HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Freedom of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many requests for information relating to hon. Members have been received by the House authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since the inception of the Act; and of those how many requests have been  (a) met in full,  (b) met in part and  (c) resisted in full, excluding those requests for information already released.

Nick Harvey: Since the inception of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on 1 January 2005, the House has received 121 requests for information relating to hon. Members. The House's log of FOI requests contains the following information about requests made up to 21 February 2007.
	 (a) In 29 cases, no exemption was applied and requests were met in full
	 (b) 15 were met in part
	 (c) 77 were not met.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Project Al-Yamamah

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the Serious Fraud Office has received requests from representatives of the US Department of Justice for case files in relation to Al-Yamamah contracts.

Mike O'Brien: The Serious Fraud Office has not received any requests from representatives of the US Department of Justice for case files in relation to Al-Yamamah contracts.

Project Al-Yamamah

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General whether investigations are being undertaken into allegations of false accounting by BAE Systems in connection with the Al-Yamamah contract.

Mike O'Brien: Investigations are not being undertaken at this point into allegations of false accounting by BAE Systems in connection with the Al-Yamamah contract.

Project Al-Yamamah

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General whether meetings have taken place in the last 12 months between the Serious Fraud Office and representatives of the US Department of Justice concerning investigations into Al-Yamamah contracts.

Mike O'Brien: The Serious Fraud Office has met with representatives of the US Department of Justice to discuss case related matters.

WALES

Immigration

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what  (a) discussions,  (b) correspondence and  (c) email exchanges (i) he and (ii) his officials have had with (A) Ministers and (B) officials in the Home Office on immigration matters in North Wales during the past six months; when those exchanges took place; and what the outcome was of those exchanges.

Peter Hain: My officials, the Under-Secretary of State and I, have very regular contact with Ministers and officials of the Home Office, on a range of matters which fall within the purview of the Home Secretary, including immigration, as they relate to Wales.

Meetings

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what dates he has held meetings with Ministers in other Departments to discuss Welsh issues, broken down by Department.

Peter Hain: In the course of business I discuss Welsh issues with colleagues on an almost daily basis. At many meetings with ministerial colleagues I discuss both Wales and Northern Ireland issues.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Commonwealth Institute

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the Government intend to proceed with a bill to give powers to knock down all or part of the Commonwealth Institute.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 23 February 2007
	We have encouraged the Commonwealth Institute to work with English Heritage on a listed building consent application which we understand they hope to submit to the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea later this year. We have no plans to introduce a bill that will give powers to demolish all or part of the buildings on the Commonwealth Institute site.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what databases are controlled by her Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database she estimates are inaccurate or out of date.

David Lammy: The only databases controlled by my Department are internal systems used to support standard business processes such as correspondence and public inquiries. My Department also collates national lottery award information from the distributors and publishes an extract on the internet.
	I cannot provide information on data accuracy save at disproportionate cost.

Local Broadcasting: Radio

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department makes available to community radio.

Shaun Woodward: The Department has made £500,000 available for each year from 2004-05 to 2007-08. Decisions beyond this period will be considered as part of the comprehensive spending review. The community radio fund is managed by Ofcom.

Digital Switchover

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what the expected cost to the public purse is of state support to people on benefits for digital switchover.
	(2)  What the expected cost is to the public purse of supporting the transfer to digital television; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: pursuant to his reply, 9 January 2007, Official Report, c. 493W
	I regret that in my previous answer the figure of £228 million given for the cost to the BBC to support Digital UK for the period of digital switchover was incorrect. The correct figure is £216 million. The full correct response to your questions is as follows—
	In addition to meeting its costs for the upgrade of the transmission network for digital switchover, the BBC will meet Digital UK's communication costs and a share of Digital UK's operational costs. The cost to the BBC to Support Digital UK amounts to £216 million for the period of digital switchover. In addition, the BBC will also fund the digital switchover help scheme for people 75 or over or who have a significant disability. Our best estimate at this stage is that the cost of the scheme will be at or around £600 million over the period of switchover.
	There are no central estimates of the overall cost to Government of digital switchover. However, other than the costs of updating television equipment within the Government sector, the only costs will be those incurred for research, communications and other programme support costs for the Digital Switchover Programme.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Police

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the shared priorities for policing UK airports between the British Transport Police and geographical forces are; and what consultation he has held with stakeholders on such priorities.

Gillian Merron: UK airports are policed by the relevant local force. The British Transport police has no remit or powers for policing UK airports.

Bus Services: Concessions

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the free national off peak bus travel scheme for pensioners to be introduced; how it will be funded; and who will be responsible for administering the scheme.

Gillian Merron: The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill, which is currently before Parliament, provides for a national bus travel concession for older and disabled people in England. This would be introduced in April 2008, in line with the Chancellor's announcements in the 2006 Budget. For those eligible, it will guarantee free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England, rather than within the local authority area of residence as at present.
	The Government are making available additional money of up to £250 million to fund this improvement. We are confident that this will be sufficient to cover the total additional cost to local authorities.
	Local authorities and Passenger Transport Executives will be responsible for administering the new concession when the Concessionary Bus Travel Bill comes into force. The Bill does, however, contain a power allowing the Secretary of State to change the tier of local government which has travel concession authority responsibilities. There is also a power allowing the Secretary of State to administer the scheme centrally. No decision on any use of these powers has yet been taken.

Dartford Crossing

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2006,  Official Report, column 37-8W, on the Dartford Crossing, what further modelling and analysis has been carried out on projected usage of the Dartford Crossing and the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge  (a) since the evidence which was presented to the Thames Gateway Bridge Inquiry and  (b) since the announcement of a public consultation on possible changes to the Dartford Crossing tolling regime.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department for Transport reassessed the evidence presented at the Thames Gateway Bridge Public Inquiry to help inform funding decisions. Since the inquiry, no further modelling has been carried out by the Department on either the Thames Gateway Bridge or the Dartford Crossing.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Contracts

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the negotiations on the forthcoming Post Office contract renewal with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are expected to be concluded.

Stephen Ladyman: The DVLA Commercial team is at an advanced stage of negotiations with the Post Office for the renewal of the motor vehicle licensing (and other services) contract at the Post Office.
	A heads of agreement letter has been exchanged between the two organisations and negotiations are expected to be concluded within the next few weeks.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Contracts

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the new contract between Post Office Ltd and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to issue car tax discs in post office branches will commence.

Stephen Ladyman: The new contract between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Post Office Ltd. to issue car tax discs in post office branches will commence on 1 April 2007.

Railways: Accidents

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people were killed in  (a) rail crashes and  (b) road crashes in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested has been published by the Department on its website in  (a) table 8.9 for rail crashes and  (b) table 8.2 for road crashes of Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2006 edition'. These tables can be found at the following web address:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/tsgb/2006edition/sectioneighttransportacciden1846
	A copy of this publication is also available in the Libraries of the House.

Railways: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria are considered when making a decision about how much spare capacity needs to be available on a Virgin Pendolino train for it to stop at Milton Keynes station.

Tom Harris: Many Pendolino trains already call at Milton Keynes Central station and will continue to do so; only those in the core peak period to and from London do not carry London commuter traffic. Any increase in capacity that might be provided to the Pendolino fleet could only be justified with the continued growth of long distance intercity business.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what surveys his Department has undertaken on the views of commuters on the FGW Link services; and if he will publish the results of those surveys.

Tom Harris: The Secretary of State for Transport has not undertaken surveys on the views of commuters on the services within the First Great Western franchise formerly operated by First Great Western Link. Passenger surveys are undertaken by Passenger Focus. The results of the latest National Passenger Survey were published on 29 January 2007.

Railways: Thames Valley

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what modelling work  (a) has been and  (b) continues to be undertaken by his Department on train passenger numbers and service usage (i) on commuter services and (ii) on commuter services serving Twyford, Maidenhead and stations on the Henley and Bourne End branch lines.

Tom Harris: Demand was assessed in 2004 while preparing the Greater Western franchise specification. Future likely passenger demand is being assessed at a strategic level as part of the work to scope the High Level Output Specification, which is to be published in July.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many deaths of  (a) cyclists,  (b) motorbike riders and  (c) car drivers in 2006 were attributed to the condition of the highway or road on which the accident occurred.

Stephen Ladyman: 2005 is the most recent year for which the information requested is available.
	In 2005, there were  (a) seven pedal cyclist fatalities  (b) 23 motorcycle rider fatalities  (c) 113 car driver fatalities resulting from personal injury road accidents in which "poor or defective road surface", "deposit on road" or "slippery road" was reported as a contributory factor by the attending police officer.

Tolls

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timetable is for the UK's implementation of EU Directive 2004/52/EC.

Stephen Ladyman: The Road Tolling (Interoperability of Electronic Road User Charging and Road Tolling Systems) Regulations 2007, SI 2007/58, were laid before Parliament on 17 January and came into effect on 12 February. These regulations transpose the technical requirements of article 2(1) of directive 2004/52.
	The Government will bring forward any necessary draft legislation to implement the requirements of article 3 of the directive once the appropriate Commission Decisions have been taken in accordance with article 5(2) of the directive. In accordance with article 3(4) of the directive, these Decisions shall have effect three years after the date of the Commission Decisions for goods vehicles and five years after that date for cars.

Trust Ports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications there were for trust port status in each of the last 10 years; and what the status is of each application.

Stephen Ladyman: Since 1998 the Department has received one application for trust port status, currently being considered, from Exeter city council.

Trust Ports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the trust ports in the United Kingdom; and when the last such port was established.

Stephen Ladyman: A list of trust ports in the UK is contained in our publication "Focus on Ports" a copy of which is on the Department's website at: http:// www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/maritime/focusonports/focusonports2006a?version=1 and is being placed in the Library of the House. No trust port has been established in the past 10 years. To obtain information on the most recent trust port to be established would involve disproportionate cost.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Birds of Prey

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to extend the duty of care towards an animal for which a person is responsible under section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to birds of prey used in fox hunting; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the duty to ensure welfare applies to all vertebrate animals for which someone is responsible.
	Those intending to use birds of prey for fox hunting must first assess whether the welfare of the bird is likely to be compromised when used for such purposes.

Animals: Circuses

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will introduce legislation to phase out the use of animals in circuses.

Ben Bradshaw: In March 2006, I announced that I intend to introduce regulations under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to ban the use, in travelling circuses, of certain non-domesticated species whose welfare needs cannot be satisfactorily met in that environment.
	A Circus Working Group has been formed to assist us in forming a decision on which non-domesticated species should be banned from travelling circuses.
	The group has set up three specialist sub groups to source and review available scientific evidence. This includes an academic sub-group drawn exclusively from scientists and veterinarians. The working group as a whole will then provide a report setting out the findings to DEFRA Ministers. We hope to have draft regulations available for full public consultation during 2007, with the aim of bringing them into force in 2008.
	Any ban will only apply to travelling circuses. Zoo performances, performances in the audio visual industry and performances in static circuses will not be affected. We have no plans to ban the use of domesticated animals from performing in travelling circuses.

Avian Influenza: Vaccination

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whom he expects to represent his Department at the Vaccination: a tool for the control of avian influenza conference in Verona on 20 to 22 March 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: Officials from DEFRA's Exotic Disease Prevention and Control Division and Veterinary Exotic Diseases, Research and Official Controls Division will be attending.

Commercial Wastes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what material is included within his Department's definition of commercial waste;
	(2)  what percentage of commercial waste was  (a) landfilled,  (b) recycled,  (c) incinerated and  (d) re-used in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Commercial waste is defined in section 75 (7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and regulation 6 of and schedule 4 to the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992 No. 588) as
	"waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or the purposes of sport, recreation or entertainment".
	This definition excludes household waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste and waste from any mine or quarry. Examples of the waste that the definition includes are: office waste, restaurant or bar waste, shop waste, leisure centre waste and warehouse or site waste. However, this list is not definitive.
	According to the latest survey carried out by the Environment Agency in 2002-03, around 30 million tonnes of commercial waste was produced by England in that year. Of this total, approximately 52 per cent. was landfilled; 34 per cent. was recycled; 6 per cent. was re-used and 3 per cent. was incinerated with energy recovery.

Commercial Wastes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of mining and quarry waste was  (a) landfilled,  (b) recycled,  (c) incinerated and  (d) re-used in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The latest information(1), show an estimated 96.5 million tonnes of mineral waste arisings in the UK in 2004.
	Non-mineral waste from mines and quarries was included as a 'controlled waste' only when the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006 No. 937) came into force on 15 May 2006. Data on the total waste arising from mines and quarries and its disposal routes, are therefore not available.
	The Waste Management Regulations apply the same national waste management controls to non-mineral waste from mines and quarries that have long applied to other sectors of industry.
	In addition, implementation of the EU Mine Waste Directive will require operators to provide more information regarding the likely volume of waste they produce and how this will be managed.
	(1) Based on the production data in the UK Minerals Year Book 2005, published by British Geological Survey, in combination with Defra mineral production to mineral waste ratios.

Commercial Wastes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what materials are included within his Department's definition of industrial waste;
	(2)  what percentage of industrial waste was  (a) landfilled,  (b) recycled,  (c) incinerated and  (d) re-used in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Industrial waste is defined in section 75 (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and regulation 5 of and Schedule 3 to the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992 No.588). It includes waste from any factory and from any premises occupied by an industry (excluding mines and quarries).
	According to the latest survey carried out by the Environment Agency in 2002-03, around 38 million tonnes of industrial waste was produced in England in that year. Of this total, approximately 38 per cent. was land-filled; 37 per cent. was recycled; 12 per cent. was re-used and 3 per cent. was incinerated with energy recovery.

Commercial Wastes

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of construction and demolition waste was  (a) landfilled,  (b) recycled,  (c) incinerated and  (d) re-used in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: According to the latest data available(1), the total construction and demolition waste produced in England in 2005 was estimated at 89.6 million tonnes.
	Of this, 52 per cent. was recycled and a further 17 per cent. was spread on exempt sites (usually land reclamation, agricultural improvement or infrastructure projects). The remaining 31 per cent. was sent to landfill (including backfilling at quarries, and landfill engineering) as waste.
	(1) Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG): Survey of Arisings and Use of Construction and Demolition Waste as Aggregate in England: 2005

Electricity: Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry about the inclusion of grid electricity low carbon milestones in the Energy White Paper.

Ian Pearson: The Government are taking forward the development of the policy proposals set out in the Energy Review Report. Discussions on a wide range of subjects have taken place at the ministerial and official levels between my Department and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Flood Control

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the proportion of flood defences in need of significant maintenance.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England. The EA keeps records of the condition of flood defences that it maintains, together with the condition of defences maintained by third parties where they contribute to protecting communities.
	Across England, 4 per cent. of these defences are in poor or very poor condition and 44 per cent. are in a fair condition. Significant maintenance will be required on the majority of these defences in the medium term. All defences, even those in good condition, require maintenance to ensure that they continue to provide an appropriate standard of flood risk reduction.

Solar Power: Carbon Emissions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's estimate is of the  (a) solar photovoltaic and  (b) solar hot water needed to deliver a 10 per cent. carbon emissions reduction in an average UK house.

Ian Pearson: The average UK household emits around 1.6 tonnes of carbon per year. 10 per cent. savings from solar photovoltaic (PV) would require 12 square meters of panels, costing around £6,000 to install. The same savings from solar water heating would require around 7.5 square meters, costing typically £4,500.
	The annual savings from 12 square meters of solar PV panels would be worth £136 per year (not including any revenue from Renewable Obligation subsidies, or any maintenance costs). The annual savings from 7.5 square meters solar water heating panels would be around £88 per year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) outcomes and  (b) outputs have been of the money his Department has spent in Afghanistan for reconstruction and development since the invasion; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID spent £390 million on reconstruction and development in Afghanistan between April 2001 and March 2006. We plan to spend a further £102 million in 2006-07. DFID has a performance management and reporting system in place to assess the outcomes of our work, although there are well-recognised issues with attribution of development spending. Specific outputs are identified for every DFID project at design stage. These are monitored and reported against on an annual basis, as well as at project completion. Project reporting feeds into annual country level reporting and divisional level reporting, and finally into the departmental report. This is presented to Parliament every year. The relevant sections of the departmental reports for 2001 to 2006 illustrate the achievements of our Afghanistan programme.
	DFID now puts over 50 per cent. of its funding through the Government of Afghanistan's national budget via the World Bank managed Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). This supports the Afghan Government in delivering its own priority outputs and outcomes. Since 2002 DFID has channelled £235 million through the ARTF. This has helped the government to deliver essential public services: for example through the timely payment of over 100,000 teachers' salaries each month. DFID has led the development of a performance assessment matrix for the ARTF. This will further improve the monitoring of outputs and outcomes of spending through the national budget.
	Other achievements since 2001 which are attributable to combined donor-government efforts include: the number of functioning health clinics has increased by 60 per cent.; 72 new hospitals and clinics have been built; £16 million vaccinations have been administered against childhood diseases, saving an estimated 35,000 lives; over 13,000 primary and secondary schools have been reconstructed; school enrolment has quadrupled; and nearly six million Afghan children are now in school, a third of them girls. Since 2003 economic growth has averaged over 10 per cent. per annum (8 per cent. in 2006-07) and private investment has risen from $22 million to over $400 million. GDP per capita has increased from $182 per capita in 2002 to $335 per capita in 2006, and government fiscal revenue has risen almost five-fold in the same time period: from around $115 million per annum to around $520 million per annum.

CDC

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) salaries and  (b) bonuses were of each member of the Board of Directors of the CDC Group plc. in each of the last seven years; and what the (i) salaries and (ii) bonuses of each of the managing partners of Actis was in each year since 2004.

Hilary Benn: The fees of the chairman and the non-executive directors of CDC are set in agreement with government in accordance with the guidelines for public appointments of this type. The remuneration committee of the board, consisting of the non-executive directors, sets the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer, within a framework agreed with the government.
	Details of fees, salaries and bonuses paid to directors of CDC are published in the Director's Remuneration Report of the CDC Annual Report and Accounts for each year since 1999. The 2006 Report has not yet been published and the remuneration figures are therefore not yet available.
	The remuneration of Actis Managing Partners is governed by the terms set out in the Actis 'Members' Agreement,' the document that details how the business is to be run and its governance arrangements. The remuneration committee of the board, consisting of certain non-executive directors, sets the remuneration of the managing partners, within a framework that has been agreed with the government.
	The Actis annual accounts for the years 2005 and 2004, which are available from Companies House, provide details of how much is earned by the partner with the highest entitlement to the share of Actis profits. Further details of the total remuneration of Actis Managing Partners are confidential under the terms of the Members Agreement.

Convention for the Protection of All People from Enforced Disappearance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the International Convention for the Protection of All People from Enforced Disappearance.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	The UK welcomes this new convention. We hope it will be an important tool in preventing enforced disappearance in the future.
	The UK was active throughout the negotiations to draft the convention, and we supported its adoption at both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly. At the adoption of the convention the UK made an interpretative statement clarifying our understanding of certain provisions, including what constitutes an enforced disappearance, the application of obligations under international humanitarian law and the procedures applicable to the adoption and placement of children whose parents had been subject to an enforced disappearance. This statement can be found at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/ukmisgeneva.
	I will send a copy of the statement to the hon. Member and also arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.
	The Government now need to conduct a detailed analysis of the provisions of the treaty and their implications for implementation in order to determine the UK's position towards ratification, including whether we would need to make any reservations. We understand that 57 states (including 10 member states of the European Union) have so far signed the convention. The convention requires 20 states to ratify in order to enter into force.

Departments: Theft

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what items valued at above £100 were reported as stolen from his Department's buildings or premises in the last 12 months.

Gareth Thomas: The items reported as stolen from DFID's offices over the last 12 months are as follows:
	£2,722 cash from Helmand office;
	£289 cash from Nigeria office;
	one mobile phone.
	In the case of both cash losses, investigations were carried out, and in one case an individual was dismissed.

Developing Countries: Primary Education

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to meet the millennium development goal of universal primary education by 2015 for children in conflict-affected fragile states.

Gareth Thomas: There is no agreed global list of conflict affected fragile states, nor fragile states. We do have a list of 'fragile states' which we are reviewing, as countries frequently move in and out of fragility and conflict, and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. DFID defines fragile states as those where the government cannot or will not deliver its core functions—the delivery of basic services, provision of safety and security, capable management of public resources, and control over its own territory. DFID's list of fragile states is based on the countries in the bottom quintiles of the World Bank's country policy and institutional assessments from 1999-2003. Detail on DFID's current definition and list of fragile states can be found in DFID's policy paper, "Why We Need to Work More Effectively in Fragile States", page 7 and annexe 1, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
	DFID's commitment to work more in fragile states is clearly stated in the 2006 White Paper. The UK has also announced its intention to provide £8.5 billion over the next 10 years to support education and this will include support for fragile states. This long term commitment will support the development and implementation of education sector plans aimed at meeting the education goals including in fragile states.
	DFID's bilateral programmes are already supporting education in fragile states. For example, in Afghanistan some 40 per cent. or £15 million of our support to reconstruction went to education last year. In addition, through the Education for All Fast Track Initiative's (FTI) Education Programme Development Fund (EPDF) there is the capability to support fragile states to get them on-track with education sector plans. The FTI is now piloting capacity building support for Haiti, Liberia, Somalia and Burundi through the EPDF. The UK-led FTI fragile states task team has been created to examine how the FTI can increase its support for fragile states.

Guinea: International Assistance

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid the UK is providing to the Government of Guinea in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID is providing £750,000 in humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance to Guinea in 2006-07. It is being provided through international partners and agencies and is focused on a range of preventative humanitarian activities, including support to refugees, assisting people affected by conflict, monitoring of the food security position, and supporting an emergency immunisation programme.
	We have also recently agreed to provide £500,000 over three years from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool to support civil society working to promote emerging democratic governance in Guinea.
	The UK also provides financial support through the European Union and multilateral agencies. The UK's estimated contribution through these agencies was £6.4 million in 2004.

Guinea: International Assistance

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions are taking place in the EU regarding the distribution of the recently agreed aid package to Guinea; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The UK welcomes the efforts of the European Union and regional leaders to help negotiate a peaceful solution in Guinea. The EU has expressed its concern that the recent restrictions on freedoms, especially on radio broadcasts, constitute a step backwards in the undertakings given by the Government of Guinea during the consultations under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement in December 2006, under which the EU agreed to release funds from EDF9. The EU is continuing to monitor the situation closely, and has reaffirmed its support for the process of democratisation and strengthening of the rule of law, particularly the holding of parliamentary elections in June 2007.

Guinea: International Assistance

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions have been held with  (a) the World Bank and  (b) the African Development Bank regarding emergency aid to Guinea; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The World Bank and the African Development Bank (ADB) are not providing emergency assistance to Guinea, but both are providing development assistance. ADB support is focused on improving governance, especially in the area of public resource management, basic education and rural infrastructure. The World Bank is revising its Country Assistance Strategy, and currently supporting work in community development, rural infrastructure including electrification, education, transport, health, and HIV/AIDS.

Human Trafficking

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what role his Department plays in combating human trafficking in the countries to which the United Kingdom provides aid.

Gareth Thomas: Poverty and social exclusion make people vulnerable to human trafficking. DFID's purpose is to support long-term programmes to help eliminate the underlying causes of poverty. Our programmes help improve the livelihood opportunities and security of poor people so that they are less susceptible to traffickers.
	DFID also supports the anti-trafficking work of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through its special action programme to combat forced labour and the international programme on the elimination of child labour. Over £14 million is currently committed to ILO and civil society programmes in south-east Asia.

Overseas Aid: Education

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK Government funding was allocated to educational facilities and activities in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan in each year since 2001.

Hilary Benn: DFID's main support to the education sector in Afghanistan is through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). This plays a big part in meeting in meeting the recurrent costs such as wages and salaries of teachers and school materials. ARTF resources cover 90 per cent. of the Ministry of Education's wage bill and teachers' salaries represent almost 40 per cent. of ARTF recurrent expenditures. DFID funds a third of these expenditures. The total UK contribution to ARTF to date is £223.7 million ($425.2 million). In addition, we gave limited support (£47,000) for primary education of refugees in 2001-02.
	In Iraq, our support to education has been channelled through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI). In 2004, we contributed £70 million to the multi-donor trust funds managed by the United Nations and the World Bank, which provide assistance in key areas including education. IRFFI projects have rehabilitated schools, provided essential text books, and trained Iraqi teachers. For more information on these funds please consult www.irffi.org.

Overseas Aid: Education

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the projected spending on educational programmes by his Department is for each year until 2015.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government have committed to spending some £8.5 billion between 2006-07 and 2015-16 in support of education in developing countries. The Prime Minister has committed the UK to spending £1 billion a year on bilateral and multilateral support to education by 2010, which represents the doubling of education spend from 2005-10. It is expected that most of our partner countries will receive additional funding for education. The overall increases for 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be decided when the comprehensive spending review for 2007 has been concluded later this year.

Overseas Aid: Education

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department monitors progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goals on education; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Monitoring progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those on education (MDGs 2 and 3), is the responsibility of the United Nations (UN), and DFID uses their official assessments. The recently published UN "Millennium Development Goals Report 2006" is a comprehensive account of progress to date on each of the goals, and how great an effort remains necessary to meet them. This report is published by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat and is based on a master set of data that has been compiled by an Inter-Agency and Expert Group on MDG indicators.
	The authoritative source of global education data is the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) which contains data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. This report is published annually and reports on progress towards the EFA goals set out in the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action.

Overseas Aid: Employment

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make UK development assistance to  (a) India and  (b) Pakistan conditional on the enforcement by those governments of laws prohibiting bonded labour.

Gareth Thomas: The UK's development assistance is not conditional on a single issue but depends on a shared commitment to three principles: reducing poverty and achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs); respecting human rights and other international obligations; and strengthening financial management and reducing corruption.
	Our partnerships with both countries are firmly based on these principles, including working with the governments to ensure that all the human rights obligations implicit in the MDGs are met.
	India's constitution provides a strong framework for promoting the rights of all its citizens. The Bonded Labour Systems Act of 1974 marked the abolition of bonded labour, the bonded labour system and bonded debt. The legal courts and the National Human Rights Commission have since taken clear positions against bonded labour.
	The UK and Pakistan signed a 10-year Development Partnership Arrangement (DPA) in November 2006. The DPA is built around a shared commitment to pursuing the three principles outlined above. The government of Pakistan (GoP) has declared bonded labour illegal. The UK is working with the GoP to combat child labour by piloting the provision of cash transfers to parents whose children enrol in, and attend, school.
	Therefore we do not see a case for interrupting our development assistance to either country.

Overseas Aid: Health Services

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are taken to ensure that projects funded by his Department to fight specific diseases in developing countries do not take  (a) resources and  (b) medical staff away from those countries' general healthcare infrastructure.

Gareth Thomas: DFID uses a range of approaches and aid instruments to fight specific diseases in developing countries according to the country situation. The preference within the bilateral programme is to provide budget support or pooled funds to support the implementation of countries' own health plans. Such approaches provide flexible and long term support to fund trained staff, essential medicines and the costs of delivering broad based health services.
	In more difficult settings where DFID supports large disease specific programmes it encourages the delivery of integrated packages of care, for example adding distribution of bednets, micronutrients, and other vital treatments to immunisation programmes.
	The challenges are greater in multilateral investments where DFID channels funds through others, for example the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria or the GAVI Alliance. DFID encourages these groups and others to buy into national plans and use national delivery systems where possible. The aim is to minimise the negative effect of projects that may divert funds, staff and effort to specific health issues at the expense of broader services. In response to such concerns GAVI has established a health systems funding window to support the infrastructure needed to deliver sustainable health systems and the Global Fund model is evolving with the recent contribution to the pooled health sector fund in Mozambique.

Skills for Development Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department provided for the Skills for Development programme in each year since 2000.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has provided funding of up to £5.4 million for the Skills for Development programme.
	The following table shows the funds allocated in each year since 2000.
	
		
			  Skills for Development  
			 1999-2000 39,460 
			 2000-01 208,435 
			 2001-02 657,629 
			 2002-03 701,753 
			 2003-04 1,814,742 
			 2004-05 1,354,638 
			 2005-06 545,327

Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money from the public purse  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies gave to (i) the Smith Institute and (ii) its subsidiary SI Events Ltd in each year since 1997; and for what purpose each payment was made.

Hilary Benn: Since 1997 neither organisation has received any payments from DFID.

South Asia: Family Planning

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department provides to reproductive health programmes in South Asia.

Gareth Thomas: In India, DFID has committed £252 million to the second Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH2) from 2006-11. This includes a major component of family planning and other reproductive health services, and gives priority to the poorest States. In addition, DFID's support to health in the four focus states (West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh) includes significant support for reproductive health services.
	In Bangladesh, DFID has committed £100 million for a period of five years (2006-11) to the government-led Health Nutrition and Population Sector Programme. Reproductive Health is a central element of the programme's essential service delivery component. DFID is also proposing a five year commitment to a United Nations maternal and neonatal programme targeting up to 47 million people, and focusing on improving maternal health services particularly for poor and excluded people.
	In Pakistan, DFID has committed £7.5 million over five years (2003-07) to a joint reproductive health commodities social marketing programme with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DFID has committed £68.5 million, including technical assistance, between 2002 and 2006 for the National Health Facility, of which approximately £41 million is for reproductive health services. This national programme includes family planning; female health workers whose role includes providing community based family planning, and some population welfare which includes reproductive health. DFID's £90 million support to the maternal and newborn health programme 2006-11 includes reproductive and maternal health initiatives.
	In Nepal, DFID funds the national safe motherhood programme (£20 million from 2005 to 2010). DFID provided £11 million for family planning commodities through the UNFPA between 1997 and 2006.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Leader of the House what databases are controlled by the Privy Council Office; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Jack Straw: The Privy Council Office controls a database for records management purposes and, separately, the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons has one correspondence database which is managed via a service level agreement by the Cabinet Office IT provider and Domain Technologies. To the best of my knowledge 100 per cent. of the data in each database is accurate and up to date.

House of Lords: Bishops

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make a statement on the future role of Church of England bishops in the House of Lords.

Jack Straw: Paragraph 6.22 of the White Paper 'The House of Lords: Reform' (Cm 7027) explains that the special representation of the Church of England in the House of Lords should continue. This is in line with the conclusions of the Wakeham Commission that:
	"While there is no direct or logical connection between the establishment of the Church of England and the presence of Church of England bishops in the 'second chamber', their removal would be likely to raise the whole question of the relationship between Church, State and Monarchy, with unpredictable consequences."

House of Lords: Reform

Alan Williams: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2007,  Official Report, column 979W, on House of Lords reform, whether the elected members of the House of Lords would have the same freedom as hon. Members to make representations on behalf of their constituents.

Jack Straw: Members of the House of Lords are not there to represent constituencies. Paragraphs 6.8 to 6.15 of the White Paper 'The House of Lords: Reform' (Cm7027) explains that one of the key principles that should underpin a reformed House is the complimentary nature of the House of Lords. The House of Lords should not duplicate the functions of the House of Commons.

Written Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House what guidance he has given to Government Departments on unanswered parliamentary questions in the last 12 months.

Jack Straw: Departments were reminded at the end of last Session to clear all outstanding questions before the House prorogued. I now regularly monitor the performance of Departments and where and when appropriate have from time to time drawn Ministers' attention to the importance of adhering to the targets laid down for answering questions.

PRIME MINISTER

Honours

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to invite the House to vote on whether hon. Members are made Knights or Dames for services to Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: No.

Petitions: Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister whether there have been any instances of a change in Government policy on the basis of a e-petition on the Downing Street website; and whether the most popular e-petitions are brought to his personal attention.

Jo Swinson: To ask the Prime Minister how many of the petitions on his e-petition website have led to a review or change in Government policy or practice.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Members to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 12 February 2007. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page10962. asp and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) disability living allowance was underpaid in each year since 2001.

Anne McGuire: The administration of attendance allowance and disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 28 February 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much (a) attendance allowance and (b) disability living allowance was underpaid in each year since 2001.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information requested is not available for Attendance Allowance. For Disability Living Allowance information is only available for 2004-05 and is contained in the DWP Information Directorate's publication, "Fraud, Error and other Incorrectness in Disability Living Allowance—The results of the Benefit Review of Disability Living Allowance". A copy has been placed in the Library.
	I hope you find this information of use and I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Housing Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had the maximum default rate of non-dependent deduction applied to them due to non-disclosure of the income of non-dependents in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Housing Benefit: Disabled

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received housing benefit and the disability premium in each quarter since 2001.

James Plaskitt: Information on housing benefit recipients with a disability premium is only available annually. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Housing benefit recipients with a disability premium: Great Britain, May 2001 to May 2003 
			  As at May each year  Number 
			 2001 788,000 
			 2002 832,000 
			 2003 836,000 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. Figures are based on a one per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. HB figures exclude any extended payment cases. 4. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.  Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system, annual one per cent. sample, taken in May 2001 to May 2003.

Income Support: Homelessness

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the 10 most common reasons were for stopping provision of  (a) income support and  (b) contribution-based jobseeker's allowance for people without accommodation in each of the last five years; and how many people had such provision stopped for each reason in each year.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Jobseekers Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged between 25 and 50 years were claiming jobseeker's allowance in each month since 1992.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Unemployment benefits and jobseeker's allowance claimants in Great Britain aged 25 to 49 years: January 1992 to January 2007 
			   1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999 
			 January 1,388,515 1,625,400 1,552,080 1,359,760 1,269,850 1,052,025 807,540 771,050 
			 February 1,409,960 1,616,160 1,525,805 1,333,340 1,264,195 1,000,220 784,945 763,440 
			 March 1,412,865 1,595,340 1,495,350 1,303,455 1,227,800 955,790 761,920 745,975 
			 April 1,434,445 1,602,520 1,477,815 1,299,380 1,228,505 928,035 759,135 736,150 
			 May 1,430,485 1,567,435 1,442,455 1,266,545 1,190,430 894,115 740,160 713,185 
			 June 1,416,440 1,543,330 1,408,020 1,241,990 1,160,780 855,695 725,715 696,830 
			 July 1,438,940 1,548,010 1,403,820 1,253,835 1,167,305 855,525 737,165 694,445 
			 August 1,471,210 1,552,750 1,398,650 1,259,335 1,172,980 845,860 743,220 689,300 
			 September 1,469,565 1,524,490 1,366,955 1,227,945 1,132,360 810,500 722,275 671,980 
			 October 1,470,850 1,483,010 1,317,960 1,200,125 1,075,575 774,590 705,140 645,125 
			 November 1,509,780 1,477,865 1,308,405 1,198,170 1,022,515 753,550 711,555 639,035 
			 December 1,584,355 1,494,805 1,313,290 1,225,835 1,025,175 760,020 722,485 639,645 
		
	
	
		
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 January 688,715 595,540 554,605 535,515 501,455 449,420 489,055 493,500 
			 February 678,635 587,915 548,860 535,890 496,645 450,915 498,825 — 
			 March 661,200 570,460 533,465 524,630 483,440 448,805 499,320 — 
			 April 636,440 554,645 527,925 513,930 472,110 444,615 496,720 — 
			 May 620,710 542,105 516,130 511,285 455,890 444,745 492,050 — 
			 June 603,370 524,330 507,610 500,395 441,625 440,745 487,385 — 
			 July 596,480 522,290 508,270 495,895 435,475 441,415 486,005 — 
			 August 592,930 524,645 508,645 491,830 432,815 443,275 481,720 — 
			 September 570,685 508,455 496,040 478,830 423,200 439,805 478,885 —- 
			 October 557,485 499,470 484,725 467,075 413,920 438,610 472,160 — 
			 November 555,205 504,650 486,470 465,290 413,305 446,000 469,755 — 
			 December 563,395 517,235 495,320 469,885 417,815 457,220 472,530 — 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five. 2. Figures do not include a small number of clerical cases. 3. Jobseeker's Allowance was introduced in 1996 and replaced unemployment benefit.  Source: Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.

Lone Parents

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of lone parents in  (a) England,  (b) London and  (c) West Ham constituency were on income support when their youngest child is aged 16 years old in the last period for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Pensions

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the flat rate accrual amount of £72.80 proposed for the state second pension in Schedule 2 to the Pensions Bill was calculated.

James Purnell: The initial figure of £72.80 for the flat rate accrual amount is the equivalent of £1.40 a week in earnings terms. This figure will be re-valued in line with average earnings during a working life and with prices in retirement.
	In coming to this figure we have 'smoothed' the accrual amounts; this radically simplifies the current system where for around the next twenty years, state second pension accruals would have been set at different levels for younger and older workers. Over the next forty years our reforms are broadly cost neutral and people's pensions will build up in a straightforward way that they will find easier to understand.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many letters to his Department sent from hon. Members during Session 2005-06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over six months old.

Peter Hain: All correspondence received into my Department during the parliamentary Session 2005-06 have been replied to.
	There is no outstanding correspondence.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what databases are controlled by his Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database he estimates are inaccurate or out of date.

Paul Goggins: Information in the form requested is not readily available and could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost. The Department has approximately 300 databases ranging in size from the most sophisticated (SAP and Oracle) to the simplest (MS Access). The Department is currently in the process of rationalising these databases and it is therefore likely that many will be retired within the next 12-18 months.

Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money from the public purse  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies gave to (i) the Smith Institute and (ii) its subsidiary SI Events Limited in each year since 1997; and for what purpose each payment was made.

Peter Hain: Neither organisation has ever received any direct payments from the Northern Ireland Office.

Devolution

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on reinstating devolved government in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly will occur on 7 March. It is the Government's hope and expectation that this renewed mandate will, under the terms of the Northern Ireland (St. Andrews Agreement Act) 2006, pave the way for the successful restoration of the devolved institutions on 26 March.

Extended Schools: Rural Areas

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what provision is in place to ensure equity of access within the extended schools programme for pupils attending rural schools.

Maria Eagle: The extended schools programme has been targeted at children and young people who are disadvantaged, marginalised or have the most limited access to current services. It has therefore been necessary to establish selection criteria in order to identify the most disadvantaged schools as follows:
	post primary schools drawing 51 per cent. or more of pupils from neighbourhood renewal areas and 30 per cent. most disadvantaged wards;
	nursery, primary, special schools located in these areas and, as a safeguard, any school not qualifying above but with a free school meal entitlement of 37 per cent. or more and in the case of nursery schools an income based job seekers allowance percentage in excess of 37 per cent.
	Using this qualifying criteria almost 500 schools have been identified for Extended Schools funding of which 113 (23 per cent.) are located in rural areas.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many visits Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) made to prison establishments in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and which such establishments HMCIP visited over that period.

Paul Goggins: Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Prisons (HMCIP) has visited prison establishments in Northern Ireland a total of seven times in the last five years as follows:
	
		
			  Prison  Date 
			 Maghaberry Prison 13-17 May 2002(1) 
			  10-14 October 2005 
			   
			 Magilligan Prison 20-24 September 2004 
			  10-19 May 2006 
			   
			 Hydebank Wood Prison (Ash House) 28-30 November 2004 
			   
			 Hydebank Wood (YOC) 4-8 February 2002 
			  14-17 March 2005 
			 (1) Including Mourne House. 
		
	
	Since 2004, HMCIP inspections have been carried out with the Criminal Justice Inspectorate of Northern Ireland.

Local Government

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many times he met local councils in Northern Ireland between January 2006 and January 2007.

Peter Hain: I have met with many local council representatives in Northern Ireland as part of my duties including visits to Banbridge, Fermanagh and Limavady councils between January 2006 and January 2007.

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on housing prisoners from England and Wales in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: There have been no discussions between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary about this issue.
	The National Offender Management Unit for England and Wales did make an initial informal inquiry of the Director of the Northern Ireland Prison Service as to the availability of Maze prison. He advised that Maze was no longer part of the NIPS estate, but belonged to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and no further approaches were made to NIPS.

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of prison places in Northern Ireland were occupied in each of the past five years, broken down by prison establishment.

Paul Goggins: As the prison population and the available accommodation vary on a daily basis, an average annual percentage figure would be unrepresentative. To provide a more accurate picture, statistics from establishments have been selected for the weeks beginning April and October of each year for the last five years.
	These figures do not however fully reflect the level of cell-sharing, as some areas of accommodation are reserved for specific categories of prisoners such as females or life sentence prisoners.
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Establishment 
			  Week beginning  Maghaberry  Magilligan  Hydebank 
			 1 April 2002 73 91 82 
			 7 October 2002 92 91 95 
			 7 April 2003 105 96 104 
			 6 October 2003 104 99 98 
			 1 April 2004 91 101 99 
			 2 October 2004 94 94 99 
			 7 April 2005 106 88 78 
			 5 October 2005 109 86 100 
			 3 April 2006 110 88 95 
			 2 October 2006 110 86 95 
			  Note: The figures in the table are a percentage of the available certified normal accommodation.

Reparation by Offenders

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what he estimates the cost will be to the public purse of the payments to community restorative justice schemes in Northern Ireland in the year ending April 2008.

David Hanson: There is no dedicated budget in 2007-08 to fund community-based restorative justice schemes' activities. However, schemes who seek accredited status will be free to apply for funding, in the same way as any other voluntary or community organisation, from existing funding sources where they meet the appropriate grant criteria.

Roads: Fees and Charges

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has  (a) to pilot and  (b) to introduce a road pricing scheme in Northern Ireland; and what research his Department has undertaken in relation to the feasibility of such a scheme in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	 Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 1 March 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question regarding what plans he has to (a) pilot and (b) introduce a road pricing scheme in Northern Ireland; and what research his Department has undertaken in relation to the feasibility of such a scheme in Northern Ireland. As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
	The Secretary of State has made it clear that he wants Northern Ireland to be fully engaged in the road pricing agenda.
	In Great Britain, officials in the Department for Transport are considering legislative proposals to be taken forward in a draft Road Transport Bill. The Bill would reform the existing powers of local authorities in England and Wales to introduce pilot road pricing schemes. It would give greater freedom to local authorities to implement schemes whilst ensuring that schemes in different places are consistent and interoperable. Pilot schemes could tackle congestion where it is already a problem, or predicted to be, and could support the Government's work to explore the potential for a national system of road pricing.
	Northern Ireland roads legislation does not at present contain any powers enabling the introduction of road pricing or road pricing pilot schemes. However, Roads Service officials are currently liaising with their counterparts in the Department for Transport to determine whether it would be appropriate to introduce similar legislative provision to Northern Ireland either through the proposed Road Transport Bill or by a separate Order in Council.
	Turning to the matter of research, Roads Service officials have been actively involved in the development of the Department for Transport's Road Pricing Feasibility Study and in the outworkings of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' Lorry User Charging proposals. We continue to monitor developments in road user charging in England and Wales.

Special Advisers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of his Department's civil servants work full-time to support departmental special advisers; and what the salary is of each such civil servant.

Peter Hain: Two civil servants currently work in support of my special advisers, one supporting NIO work, the other, the work of the Northern Ireland Departments. They are paid on the B2 pay band range from £20,869 to £28,620.
	I apologise for the lateness of this answer which was due to an administrative oversight.

Terrorism

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2007, on "on the runs", what measures the Government are considering to deal with "on the runs" other than further legislation or an amnesty.

Peter Hain: None. As I explained in my previous answer to the hon. Member for North Down, the Government continue to accept that the position of "on the runs" is an anomaly, and we believe that the anomaly will need to be addressed at some stage. However, the Government do not have any current proposals for doing so.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Departments: Missing Persons

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on how many occasions his Department has been represented at a meeting of the Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group since May 2004; and on what dates this occurred.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 28 February 2007
	The establishment of a Missing Persons Strategic Oversight Group was a recommendation of the Nove Review of the Police National Missing Persons Bureau in 2005, which proposed the establishment of a permanent oversight group drawn from statutory bodies and the voluntary sector. The group is chaired by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and supported by the Home Office.
	DfES fully recognises the importance of the group's work and we are represented on it by officials, as part of our continuing commitments to cross-Government liaison on runaways and missing persons matters.
	There have been two official group meetings, in March and November 2006. DfES attended in November. An 'extraordinary' meeting in April 2006 enabled us to catch up on issues from the March meeting.

Family Courts: Manpower

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the sickness rates for children and family court advisory and support services practitioners in  (a) public law and  (b) private law were in each of the last three years.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 22 February 2007
	This is a matter for the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS). Anthony Douglas, the chief executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Anthony Douglas, dated 22 February 2007:
	I am writing to you in response to Parliamentary Question 122548.
	PQ 122548—To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, if he will give details of the sickness rates for children and family court advisory and support services in both public law and private law in each of the last five years.
	CAFCASS does not have sickness absence rates broken down between different staff groups, such as private law practitioners and public law practitioners. The sickness absence rates for the entire CAFCASS workforce from 1 April 2004 are detailed in the table below. The figures represent the level of working days lost in each financial year, expressed as a percentage of total working days.
	
		
			   Sickness absence rate (Percentage) 
			 2004-05 4.7 
			 2005-06 3.5 
			 2006 to date 4.2 
		
	
	Data on sickness absence prior to 2004 have not been included because the data collection systems were not robust enough to enable reliable information to be collected.
	A copy of this reply will be placed in the House Library.

Independent Schools

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many independent schools there were in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many children aged five to 16 years were educated in independent schools in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: Figures provided here relate to pupils of compulsory school age (aged five to 15). Pupils aged 15 on 31 August will become 16 during the school year.
	
		
			  Independent schools( 1) : Number of schools and number of pupils aged five-15— Position in January each year: 1997 to 2006 England 
			   Number of schools  Number of pupils( 2) 
			 1997 2,256 405,790 
			 1998 2,227 410,270 
			 1999 2,214 413,130 
			 2000 2,187 416,380 
			 2001 2,188 423,220 
			 2002 2,190 429,240 
			 2003 2,160 432,690 
			 2004 2,302 438,070 
			 2005 2,250 434,750 
			 2006 2,261 434,260 
			 (1) Excludes city technology colleges and academies. (2) Age as at 31 August in the previous year.  Note: The number of pupils have been round to the nearest 10.  Source: Schools' census

Music: Education

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much each independent music service provider received from his Department for the purpose of providing music education in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Music Standards Fund (MSF) has been paid to local authorities since 1999/2000. Local authorities are responsible for procuring music services for their schools with this funding and some choose to do this by contracting with independent music service providers. Information is not held centrally on which authorities use these services.
	In addition to the MSF, the Music and Dance Scheme provides funding for music education and training through the Aided Pupil Scheme at four independent specialist boarding schools and new national grants available at nine regional centres for advanced training (£12.5 million in 2006-07). The money includes outreach/partnership grants for working with state schools. From 2006/07, we will be providing additional funding to strengthen these partnerships.

Runaway Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance is in place in relation to a child who runs away from their home local authority area into another authority area.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 28 February 2007
	It is a statutory responsibility for every local authority children's services to safeguard children in their area, including runaways, and local authorities have a duty to promote co-operation between all those who work with children.
	Government issued 'Children Missing from Care and Home—a guide to good practice' in tandem with the Social Exclusion Unit's report 'Young Runaways', in 2002. This includes information for local authorities and their partner agencies on responding both to children in care who go missing from their placements and also to children who go missing from their homes. This guidance states that where runaways from one area present themselves in another local authority area, it will be important that the "receiving" authority negotiates with their "home" authority so that, if necessary, these children can be linked back into appropriate services that are local to their families.

Schools: Muslims

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the document "Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools" produced by the Muslim Council of Britain and launched by the Chief Advisor for London Schools on 21 February;
	(2)  whether he had been informed of the content of the document "Towards Greater Understanding: Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools" prior to it being launched by the Chief Advisor for London Schools.

Jim Knight: The Muslim Council of Britain sent a draft copy of the document to the Secretary of State last autumn. The Secretary of State has made no specific assessment or endorsement of the document and there is no expectation on schools to adopt any of the specific recommendations made by the Muslim Council for Britain. Government believe that all schools have an ethos which encourages social responsibility, high aspirations, good citizenship and mutual understanding; and that schools recognise the cultural and faith needs of all pupils.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, 
	(1)  what steps he expects schools to take to evaluate the effectiveness of any innovative curriculum plan they adopt;
	(2)  what the key elements of curriculum content that have stood the test of time are;
	(3)  whether the programme of study in science at Key Stage 4 will adopt the common format of the new programmes of study;
	(4)  whether cross-curricular themes will be a statutory part of the national curriculum;
	(5)  when he plans to consult on the guidance for teachers on tracking the progress of pupils and on how they grasped the key concepts and skills in each curriculum subject.

Jim Knight: It is for schools to decide the way in which they will evaluate the effectiveness of any innovative curriculum plan they undertake. All school activities are subject to inspection by Ofsted, and one of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's specific responsibilities is to monitor the curriculum and to report on developments in the national curriculum subjects.
	There are a number of key elements of the curriculum that have stood the test of time and which will remain at the forefront of what the next generation learn. For example:
	in English, children will continue to read classical literature and will study Shakespeare and pre-20th century writers;
	in history, they will continue to learn about the importance and impact of events in the last century, such as the world wars and the holocaust;
	children will continue to learn to read music and will be taught about classical traditions;
	in science, children will continue to learn about energy, electricity, reproduction, astronomy and space; and
	in maths, we have retained statistics, algebra, geometry and equations, while putting more emphasis on the use of maths to solve real problems.
	The recent changes to the science curriculum at Key Stage 4 give teachers more flexibility to communicate the excitement of science. The new Key Stage 3 science curriculum has been reviewed to complement the key Stage 4 programme of study so that science teaching for all age groups is integrated and engaging for pupils. There are no plans to change the format of the Key Stage science programme of study.
	Cross-curricular themes will not be a statutory requirement of the revised secondary curriculum. It will be for schools to decide how best to deliver the new curriculum to meet the needs of pupils.
	The guidance for teachers which will help them track the progress of their pupils, including how well they have grasped the key concepts and skills in each curriculum subject, will be developed by the QCA with input from other experts. There are no plans for a consultation on the guidance.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, in what way removing overlap and highlighting connections between subjects will create time for teachers to personalise their teaching.

Jim Knight: Eliminating overlaps between subjects allows scope for teaching key concepts and themes such as sustainability and diversity across the whole curriculum.
	Reducing the amount of overly detailed factual content in the curriculum will free up time in the school timetable. Schools and teachers can use that time to give more lessons in English and mathematics to pupils struggling with the basics, and to give opportunities for other pupils to extend their learning in areas in which they have particular interests and aptitudes. This moves us away from a one-size-fits-all curriculum to one that offers more flexibility to tailor teaching to pupils' needs and aspirations.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, how he plans to assess whether schools are  (a) providing effective catch-up lessons where needed and  (b) creating opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend their learning where they have particular interests and aptitudes.

Jim Knight: We will assess the effectiveness of the new secondary curriculum through QCA's monitoring reports and Ofsted inspection reports. We will examine the key stage 3 national curriculum test results and attainment levels in GCSE and equivalent qualifications. We will monitor post-16 participation rates to see whether or not the revised secondary curriculum has been successful in engaging and challenging young people so that more are encouraged to remain in education and training for longer.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 709-10W, on secondary education: curriculum, whether he plans to make  (a) providing catch-up lessons where needed and  (b) creating opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend their learning where they have particular interests and aptitudes compulsory elements of the national curriculum.

Jim Knight: We fully expect that schools will want to take advantage of the increased flexibility offered by the revised secondary curriculum to provide catch-up lessons where needed and to create opportunities for pupils to deepen and extend their learning where they have particular interests and aptitudes. However, it will not be a statutory requirement of the national curriculum. It will be for schools to decide how best to deliver the new curriculum to meet the needs of pupils.

Teachers: Training

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers in each local education authority in the West Midlands are to be given training on how to search pupils and use techniques to calm pupils.

Jim Knight: As stated in our draft guidance, which is now published for consultation, any head teacher who chooses to authorise staff to search pupils, should arrange training for all staff whom they authorise. The Department will not collect data on numbers being trained.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received on the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance from  (a) the Government of France and  (b) the Governments of all other signatories to the Convention.

Ian McCartney: The Government of France invited my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to sign the treaty at the signing ceremony in Paris on 6 February. The UK declined because the UK does not sign international treaties unless it has a firm intention to ratify within a reasonable time frame. We have received no formal representation from any other signatory regarding the convention.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which external consultants were used by  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in relation to private finance initiatives in 2005-06; and what the (i) nature and (ii) cost of the work was in each case.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has a private finance initiative (PFI) contract covering its global telecommunications network. In 2005-06 the FCO engaged Bird and Bird, an international commercial law firm, to provide legal advice in respect of contractual options relating to outsourcing of telecommunications in the event that this PFI was to be assessed as not providing value for money. The cost of this advice was £6,967.50.
	The FCO also employs Drivers Jonas, specialist financial consultants, to advise on the Berlin embassy PFI contract. Consultancy work undertaken by Drivers Jonas in 2005 and 2006 cost £88,810.56.
	There were no other PFIs used by the FCO or its agencies in 2005-06.

Departments: Databases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what databases are controlled by her Department and its agencies; and what percentage of the data in each database she estimates is inaccurate or out of date.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) makes extensive use of databases. Some (for example for recording visa applications and financial transactions) are managed centrally. Many others, where there is no operational need to share data, are locally owned, by either diplomatic posts overseas or departments in the UK. A survey in 2005 identified more than 1,000 databases, of varying size and complexity, holding over one million records supporting the full range of activities undertaken by the FCO worldwide. The owning post or department is best placed to ensure the accuracy of the data held, in accordance with local need and any relevant UK statutory provisions. We do not duplicate this responsibility by central monitoring, and consequently to collect and collate the information required to answer the hon. Member's question fully could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Diplomatic Service: Languages

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the criteria are for providing language training for spouses of diplomats.

Geoff Hoon: All spouses and partners of officials posted overseas are entitled to pre-posting language training in the official language of the country to which they are posted, in order to handle everyday social situations confidently.
	Spouses/partners who wish to train to a higher level than confidence level for employment or representational purposes may bid for additional language training to any level—this will be allocated in accordance with available resources and current business priorities.
	Spouses/partners who have received language training to confidence level and are later posted back to a country with the same principal language are entitled to refresher training of up to a maximum of 50 hours.

Diplomatic Service: Languages

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes there have been in the level of provision of language training for spouses of diplomats over the last five years.

Geoff Hoon: The following increase to the level of provision for spouses and partners was made with effect from 1 April 2003:
	The previous entitlement of 100 hours tuition was replaced with a graduated system in which the maximum available tuition hours varied according to the difficulty of the language:
	
		
			   Hours 
			 Class 5 (e.g. French, Spanish) 120 
			 Class 4 (e.g. German, Romanian) 150 
			 Class 3 (e.g. Russian, Greek) 200 
			 Class 2 (e.g. Turkish, Arabic) 250 
			 Class 1 (e.g. Japanese, Chinese) 300 
		
	
	Anyone who has received this training, and who is subsequently posted to a country where the same language is required, is entitled to refresher training, limited to a maximum of 50 hours. Spouses/partners who wish to train to a higher level for employment or representational purposes can bid for additional language training to any level.

Egypt: Human Rights

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions she has had on the human rights of religious groups other than Christians, Jews and Muslims in Egypt; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions she has had on the ability of religious groups other than Christians, Jews and Muslims in Egypt to obtain identity cards; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Although my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no such discussions, the UK has raised these issues bilaterally with Egypt at official level, as well as through the European Union. We raised these issues with the Egyptian government most recently on 22 January 2007.

European Research Council

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what she expects the  (a) budget and  (b) location of the new autonomous European Research Council to be; what she expects the UK contribution to be to the Council's budget; and how many and what percentage of staff she expects to be UK citizens.

Geoff Hoon: The European Research Council (ERC) is an independent body composed of a Scientific Council of 22 eminent scientists and a Delivery Agency. Its purpose is to strengthen the quality of European research by allocating funding for research on the basis of scientific excellence. It will have responsibility for a budget of €7.51 billion (£5 billion) in the seven year period 2007-13. The ERC is part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development in the overall EU budget; the UK contribution to the ERC will therefore be in proportion to our contribution to the EU budget. The ERC will be based in Brussels and staff will be recruited under Commission staff regulations as they apply to Commission Executive Agencies, so it is not possible at this stage to determine how many of the staff will be UK nationals.

Forced Labour

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the governments of  (a) India and  (b) Pakistan on the enforcement of laws prohibiting bonded labour.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Trade, raised the issue of bonded labour during his visit to India in November 2006 and in correspondence with Pakistani interlocutors in January 2007. We will continue to seek suitable opportunities to raise the matter in the course of our human rights dialogue with both countries.

Irian Jaya: Political Prisoners

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of political prisoners in West Papua.

Ian McCartney: We have no figures for the number of political prisoners in Papua, or in Indonesia as a whole. However, we are aware of the cases of eighteen individuals mentioned in a recent Human Rights Watch report, who have been sentenced to jail terms for peaceful protest in Papua.

North Korea: Politics and Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to support the growth and development of liberal democracy in North Korea.

Ian McCartney: The UK is committed to promoting democratic principles and values around the world. With regards to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Government's main focus is on achieving peaceful denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and tackling issues relating to its appalling human rights record, including non-compliance with human rights norms, denying freedom of expression, assembly, association, movement or information, on which democracy is built. The positive outcome to the latest round of six-party talks, with agreement reached on 13 February, is a step in the right direction towards denuclearisation. On human rights, we and our European partners regularly raise our concerns with the DPRK Government and in international fora. We have continued to urge the North Koreans to allow a visit by the UN special rapporteur for human rights, but the DPRK Government have consistently denied access. Despite having to deal with such a closed society we will continue to seek opportunities to promote openness and acceptance of universal values.

Trident

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will publish the legal advice the Prime Minister received which allowed her to state that the upgrading of Trident is compatible with the UK's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty.

Kim Howells: As noted in the ministerial code, the fact and substance of legal advice to the Government remains confidential. This enables Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.

TREASURY

Immunisation

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

Edward Balls: The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) was launched in September 2005 with contributions from France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, as well as the UK. Norway, Brazil and South Africa have since pledged contributions. The IFFIm will demonstrate the benefits of frontloading aid using legally binding, long-term commitments from donors through issuing bonds in international capital markets.
	The first IFFIm bonds were issued on 7 November 2006, raising $1 billion, which is currently being disbursed to purchase vaccines and deliver them to the poorest countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). One of the first programmes that will benefit from the accelerated availability of $139 million of IFFIm resources is the worldwide effort by the Measles Initiative to reduce measles deaths by 90 per cent. by 2010. The ongoing effectiveness of the disbursements will be monitored by GAVI.
	Over the next 10 years, IFFIm will provide $4 billion to support vaccinations in the world's poorest countries, and it is estimated that the frontloaded IFFIm resources will save a total of 10 million lives, including 5 million children before 2015.

Immunisation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made by his Department in contributing to the International Finance Facility beyond the commitments to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

Edward Balls: The concept of the International Finance Facility—to bring forward financing for development—is first being piloted through the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm).
	The first IFFIm bonds were issued on 7 November 2006, raising $1 billion which is currently being disbursed to purchase vaccines and deliver them to the poorest countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). The Government are working closely with GAVI to evaluate the impact of IFFIm funding disbursed through GAVI.

Immunisation

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support his Department has provided for the international finance facility for immunisation.

Edward Balls: The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) was launched in September 2005 with contributions from France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, as well as the UK. Norway, Brazil and South Africa have since pledged contributions.
	IFFIm has been established as a UK charity and is governed by a Board of five directors. It issues bonds to convert long-term commitments from donors into up-front resources for development. These resources are then disbursed through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
	The first IFFIm bonds were issued on 7 November 2006, raising $1 billion, which is currently being disbursed to purchase vaccines and deliver them to the poorest countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

City Bonuses

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the inflationary effects of City bonuses.

Edward Balls: The Chancellor receives a wide range of representations on economic, financial and City issues.

Millennium Development Goals

Tom Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress in raising funding for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Edward Balls: At the G8 Summit in Gleneagles in 2005, the G8 and other donors agreed to provide an extra $50 billion in aid by 2010, with at least half of this going to Africa, and to cancel debt worth another $50 billion.
	Already, 20 countries are benefiting from this debt relief, using the additional savings, to meet their poverty reduction priorities, and Official Development Assistance (ODA), as measured by the OECD, reached an all-time high in 2005 at $106.8 billion.
	The UK will continue to press the G8 and other donors to deliver on the aid and debt relief commitments made in 2005. At the same time, it is important also to demonstrate how these additional resources can be spent to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
	That is why the UK has committed to spend at least £8.5 billion on aid for education over the next 10 years, entering into 10-year agreements to help finance education plans developed by the poorest countries. The UK will continue to urge other donors to provide long-term predictable financing for education as part of their contribution to Gleneagles targets, including at an International Education Conference on 2 May.

Debt

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the level of debt in the UK economy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Treasury continually monitors the levels of both household liabilities and assets, and the implications of these for the wider economy are examined as part of the pre-Budget report and Budget forecasting process.

Debt

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of debt in the British economy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Treasury continually monitors the levels of both household liabilities and assets, and the implications of these for the wider economy are examined as part of the pre-Budget report and Budget forecasting process.

Debt

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of debt in the British economy; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Figures for the level of household debt are provided by the Bank of England, series LPMVTXC, and can be found on the Bank of England website, www.bankofengland.co.uk. The Government's macroeconomic framework has delivered stability and rising prosperity. Sound domestic economic fundamentals have underpinned the growth in personal debt.

Interest Rates

Jim Devine: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the setting of interest rates by the Bank of England.

John Healey: Following the introduction of the Government's Monetary Policy Framework in 1997, interest rates are a matter for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. It is not the Government's policy to comment on individual interest rate decisions taken by the MPC.

Unemployment: North-East England

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on trends in unemployment in the north-east region.

John Healey: The unemployment rate in the North-East region has declined to one of the lowest rates on record of 6.5 per cent. since 1997—declining in total by 34,000.

Employment: South Wales

Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people of working age are in employment in each of the former mining constituencies of south Wales; and how many were in employment in 1996.

John Healey: The total employment level presently available for six of the 14 former mining constituencies of south Wales is 395,000 while in 1996 there were a total of 374,000.

Financial Capability: Young People

Si�n Simon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of financial capability among young people.

Edward Balls: The Government launched their long-term approach for financial capability on 15 January. It will improve information and advice for young people, promote opportunities for children to learn about money and signpost information and advice for parents through extended schools and Sure Start children's centres. It will also give financial education a secure place on the educational agenda and issue revised curriculum guidance, promote the Child Trust Fund as a tool for teaching financial education, and integrate financial education into basic skills learning by promoting the use of financial education as a route to literacy and numeracy skills. The Government also partner the Financial Services Authority in its national strategy for financial capability which, under its Delivering Change programme, is working with schools and helping young adults make sense of money.

World Trade Agreement

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress at the recent meeting of the G7 Finance Ministers in February towards reaching a world trade agreement.

Edward Balls: At the G7 meeting, finance ministers reiterated their commitment to resisting protectionism and gave their full support to the relaunch of the world trade talks. They emphasised that all participants have the responsibility to ensure a successful outcome to the Doha Round as it will enhance global growth and contribute to poverty reduction. Ministers also reaffirmed the need to ensure that aid for trade helps to secure the full benefits of trade for developing countries.

Al-Qaeda: Africa

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his comments in  Progress Magazine in February, what the evidential basis was for his statement that there are more al-Qaeda cells in Africa than any other part of the world.

Edward Balls: We do not provide details of sources of evidence in relation to issues of national security.

Children's Centres: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials have had with their counterparts in the Department for Education and Skills on the funding of children's centres.

Edward Balls: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Defence Export Services Organisation: Finance

Anthony Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the funding for the Defence Export Services Organisation through the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on the level and make-up of Departmental Budgets will be published at the conclusion of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Departments: Surveys

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a full copy of the HM Treasury Staff Survey 2006.

John Healey: The staff survey is regarded as an internal management tool and is used by the Treasury Board and senior management to gauge staff views and to implement actions, where required, to address any problems highlighted. As the information was provided by staff on a personal and confidential basis, the underlying data cannot be released.

Departments: Vacancies

Alan Meale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many job vacancies there are for positions in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in North Nottinghamshire and North-East Derbyshire.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not currently have any job vacancies in North Nottinghamshire or North-East Derbyshire to be filled by external recruitment. All recruitment opportunities are advertised on the HMRC internet site.

English Partnerships: Sales

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether sales of assets to  (a) English Partnerships and  (b) from one Government Department or public sector body to another are included in Table B21 of his pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: Table B21 of the pre-Budget report includes asset disposal receipts as reported by each Department to the Treasury. Departments are not required to report information on the acquirer of the disposed assets.

English Partnerships: Sales

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether sales of assets by English Partnerships are included in Table B21 of his pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: Sales of assets by English Partnerships are included.

EU Legislation Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced to date as part of the Davidson review of implementation of EU legislation were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report of the Davidson review of implementation of EU legislation;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Davidson review of implementation of EU legislation.

John Healey: 1,293 copies of the Davidson review were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Davidson review was typeset and printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Davidson review were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing excluding internal staffing costs was 8,624.79.

Gila Sacks

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) remit and  (b) salary is of his special adviser Gila Sacks; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: As set out in Treasury press notice 99/97 of 4 August 1997, the Council of Economic Advisers is made up of individual policy experts who will bring their specialist experience to work alongside individual Treasury teams focusing on the Government's key policy priorities.
	The special advisers' salaries are set by the Cabinet Office in the Special Advisers' Remuneration Committee.

Health Research Funding Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced as part of the Cooksey review were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report of the Cooksey review;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Cooksey review.

John Healey: 869 copies of the Cooksey review were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Cooksey review was typeset and printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Cooksey review were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing excluding internal staffing costs was 8,544.78.

Home Working

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has to encourage home working.

John Healey: As a responsible employer the Treasury provides flexible working arrangements for staff, including opportunities for home working.

Identity Management

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff in his Department worked to support Sir James Crosby's Public-Private Forum on identity management as at 8 February 2007; and what the pay band was of each such staff member.

John Healey: Two Treasury staff, a range E and a range B, worked to support Sir James Crosby's Public-Private Forum as at 8 February.

Intellectual Property Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced as part of the Gowers review of intellectual property were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report of the Gowers review of intellectual property;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Gowers review of intellectual property.

John Healey: 819 copies of the Gowers review were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Gowers review was typeset and printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Gowers review of intellectual property were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing excluding internal staffing costs was 11,714.80.

International Assistance: Primary Education

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what contribution the UK is making to the goal of every child receiving a primary education.

Edward Balls: While some progress has been made globally over the past decade, universal primary education will not be achieved by 2015, unless the international community takes urgent action. Every day almost 80 million primary school-aged children do not go to school.
	In April 2006, the UK announced its commitment to spend at least 8.5 billion on aid for education over the next 10 years. This aid will help to provide long-term predicable financing to help support developing countries' 10-year education plans. The UK has already announced 10-year agreements to support education sector plans in Ghana (106 million, 2006-15) and Mozambique (150 million, 2007-16).
	The UK has led the way by making a long-term commitment and is urging other donors to deliver on their promises from 2005. A high-level international conference will take place on 2 May, hosted by the European Commission, and will bring together Ministers and representatives from donor and developing countries, international institutions, civil society and businesses. This conference is an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its commitment to achieving the education Millennium Development Goals and make faster progress in this area.

Land Use Planning Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced as part of the Barker review of land use planning were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report of the Barker review of land use planning;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and developing,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were of the Barker review of land use planning.

John Healey: 250 copies of the Barker Interim report and 768 copies of the Barker Final report were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Barker Interim report was typeset by GWS Print and printed by McCorquodales. The Barker Final report was printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Barker Review of land use planning were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing excluding internal staffing costs was 40,616.65.

Local Government Finance Funding Changes Independent Inquiry

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced to date as part of the Lyons inquiry into local government were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report to date of the Lyons inquiry into local government;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Lyons inquiry into local government.

John Healey: 200 copies of the Lyons inquiry public deliberations events report were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Lyons inquiry was printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Lyons inquiry were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing excluding internal staffing costs was 1,554.21.

Ministerial Visits

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 7 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1032W, on ministerial visits, for what reason he will not publish the cost of the visit of the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on 19 and 20 December 2006; whether this information was recorded by the Department; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The standard practice since 1999 has been for information relating to the cost of all ministerial travel to be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year concerned.

National Insurance Fund

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) highest and  (b) lowest daily balance of the National Insurance Fund was in each of the last 10 financial years; and what percentage of the benefit payments for the year as estimated in the Government Actuary's report on the Up-rating Order in the previous year each figure represents.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Reviews: Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much Lord Sainsbury is being paid to conduct his review of science and innovation policies;
	(2)  how much Sir James Crosby is being paid to produce his report on identity management;
	(3)  how much Kate Barker was paid to conduct the Barker review of land use planning;
	(4)  how much Andrew Gowers was paid to conduct his review of intellectual property;
	(5)  how much Sir David Cooksey was paid to conduct his review into health research funding;
	(6)  how much Sandy Leitch was paid to conduct his review of skills;
	(7)  how much Sir Rod Eddington was paid to conduct his transport study;
	(8)  how much John Baker was paid to conduct his review Realising the Economic Potential of Public Sector Research Establishments;
	(9)  how much Sir Nicholas Goddison was paid to conduct his review Securing the Best for our Museums;
	(10)  how much Richard Lambert was paid to conduct his review of business-university collaboration;
	(11)  how much the Hon. Mr. Justice Butterfield was paid to conduct his review of criminal investigations and prosecutions conducted by HM Customs and Excise;
	(12)  how much Sir Gareth Roberts was paid to conduct his review Set for Success;
	(13)  how much Derek Wanless was paid to conduct his review Securing our Future HealthTaking a Long-term View;
	(14)  how much Paul Myners was paid to conduct his review of institutional investment;
	(15)  how much Don Cruickshank was paid to conduct his review of banking services in the UK;
	(16)  how much Derek Wanless was paid to conduct his review Securing Good Health for the Whole Population;
	(17)  how much Alan Wood was paid to conduct his review of European public procurement;
	(18)  how much Lord Penrose was paid to conduct the Equitable Life inquiry;
	(19)  how much David Miles was paid to conduct his review of the UK's fixed rate mortgage market;
	(20)  how much Sir Michael Lyons was paid to conduct his review of public sector relocation;
	(21)  how much Teresa Graham was paid to conduct her review of the small firms loan guarantee;
	(22)  how much Kate Barker was paid to conduct her review of housing supply;
	(23)  how much Christopher Allsopp was paid to conduct his review of statistical requirements for monetary and wider economic policy making;
	(24)  how much Paul Myners was paid to conduct his review of the governance of life mutuals;
	(25)  how much Sir George Cox was paid to conduct his review of creativity in business;
	(26)  how much Professor Cave was paid to conduct his independent audit of spectrum holdings;
	(27)  how much Sir Derek Morris was paid to conduct his review of the actuarial profession;
	(28)  how much Sir John Pattison was paid to conduct his high-level review of stem cell research;
	(29)  how much Sir Nicholas Stern was paid to conduct his review of the economics of climate change;
	(30)  how much was paid to Lord Davidson to conduct his review of implementation of EU legislation;
	(31)  how much Phillip Hampton was paid to conduct his review of regulatory inspection and enforcement.

John Healey: The hon. Member's 31 questions cover all the reviews listed on the Treasury's public website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_ Reviews/independent_reviews_index.cfm, going back to August 1999.
	Independent reviewers are usually reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the course of their work. Occasionally, where a reviewer is asked to undertake especially extensive work, remuneration can be provided. Since the beginning of 2005, the following have been paid fees, either by the Treasury or the Department jointly sponsoring the review:
	Andrew Cowers
	Sir Michael Lyons
	Professor Martin Cave
	Sir Derek Morris
	Sir Nicholas Stern is a paid civil servant and received no extra remuneration for conducting his review.
	Information on the fees paid, if any, for reviews completed more than two years ago could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Leitch Review

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many copies of each report produced as part of the Leitch review of skills were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report for the Leitch review of skills;
	(3)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Leitch review of skills.

John Healey: 1,390 copies of the Leitch review final report were printed and 300 copies of the Leitch review executive summary were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Leitch review was typeset and printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Leitch review were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing, excluding internal staffing costs was 15,396.03.

Eddington Report

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the  (a) commissioning and development,  (b) publishing and printing,  (c) distribution and  (d) other media costs were for the Eddington transport study;
	(2)  which companies were involved in the design, publishing, printing and distribution of each report for the Eddington transport study;
	(3)  how many copies of each report published as part of the Eddington transport study were  (a) printed and  (b) distributed.

John Healey: 1,143 copies each of the Eddington transport study main report, executive summary and research annex were printed, including copies for both Houses of Parliament. Distribution figures are unavailable as these documents are distributed on demand and over the internet.
	The Eddington transport study was printed by TSO.
	The cost of commissioning and developing, distribution and other media costs for the Eddington transport study were integrated in Treasury overheads and are therefore not available as a breakdown. The cost of publishing and printing, excluding internal staffing costs was 34,553.17.

VAT: Channel Islands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of VAT lost to the Treasury annually through UK companies selling CD and DVDs via the internet from the Channel Islands.

Dawn Primarolo: No estimate has been made.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Coroners

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many coroners there were in England and Wales in each year since 2001, broken down by district; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The number of coroners in England and Wales at the end of each year since 2001 was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 132 
			 2002 129 
			 2003 127 
			 2004 120 
			 2005 120 
			 2006 117 
		
	
	The list of individual coroners' districts existing at 31 December each year since 2001 has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Coroners

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the percentage of coroners' inquests which are attended by a pathologist; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: In 2005the latest year for which information is availablea post mortem examination was conducted in 94 per cent. of cases where an inquest was held. The information we collect from coroners each year does not distinguish between those inquests where a pathologist was present to give evidence in person and those where the pathologist presented his evidence by means of a written witness statement.

Departments: Retirement

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many employees from her Department were asked to retire upon reaching 65 years of age as a result of the Department's mandatory retirement policy in each year since 1997.

Harriet Harman: The DCA retirement policy is flexible, and allows employees to retire at any point between 50 and 65. Employees who wish to work beyond the age of 65, are normally able to do so providing they are providing good service. Therefore this policy, effective from 1 April 2005, does not have a mandatory retirement age of 65.
	Until 31 March 2005, the maximum retirement age for DCA employees was 65, and employment beyond 65 was for exceptional business needs only. The following table shows the number of employees who left DCA each year aged 65:
	
		
			  Financial year  Number of employees who left DCA aged 65 
			 1 April 2004-31 March 2005 31 
			 1 April 2003-31 March 2004 0 
			 1 April 2002-31 March 2003 0 
		
	
	Figures prior to April 2002 are not held centrally and are available only at disproportionate cost.

Elections: Armed Forces

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the implementation of new measures to promote service voting.

Bridget Prentice: The Service Voters' Registration Period Order 2006 extended the registration period of voters with a service qualification from one to three years as of 1 January 2007. The responsibility for promoting this method of registration amongst service voters is a matter for both the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Defence.

Elections: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people prevented from voting in a polling station due to postal vote fraud in the 2006 local elections.

Bridget Prentice: None. Proven cases are very few and far between. Forming an estimate based on unproven allegations would require unsafe speculation.

Elections: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department collects information from local authority returning officers on  (a) irregularities with postal votes and  (b) personation.

Bridget Prentice: My Department does not routinely collect information on such allegations from local authority returning officers. We would expect information of this nature to be referred to the police as the proper investigating authority.

Elections: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many electoral petitions have been submitted since 1 January 2007, and what the details are of each case in respect of which no arrangements have been made for a court hearing.

Bridget Prentice: No petitions have been submitted to the Petitions' Office since 1 January 2007.

Elections: Fraud

Nigel Evans: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Government are taking to tackle electoral fraud; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government have taken significant steps in recent years to tighten up the security of the electoral process and assist the police and prosecutors in tackling electoral fraud. These measures are primarily established by the Electoral Administration Act 2006 and associated secondary legislation.
	The new measures include: specific new offences of false registration and false application for a postal or proxy vote; strengthened offence of undue influence; new clear secrecy warnings on postal and proxy vote papers; increased time for police investigations; requiring reasons for a redirection of a postal vote; more time for administrators to consider postal vote applications; and requiring formal acknowledgement of the grant of a postal vote to be sent to an elector's qualifying registered address.

Judiciary: Public Appointments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many of the Judicial Appointments Commission staff are secondees from her Department.

Harriet Harman: As at 26 February 2007, there were 76 staff at the Judicial Appointments Commission on varying lengths of secondment from the Department for Constitutional Affairs, broken down into substantive gradesthree senior civil servants, three personal secretaries, one span 9, 10 span 8's, five span 7's, one faststreamer, 13 span 6's, 18 span 4's and 22 span 3's.

Middlesex Guildhall

Hugo Swire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the representations made by English Heritage to Westminster city council on the proposed alterations to Middlesex Guildhall.

Harriet Harman: I have placed in the Libraries of both Houses, representations made by English Heritage to Westminster city council on the proposed alterations to Middlesex Guildhall. All correspondence pertaining to the application for listed building and planning consent is publicly available from Westminster city council:
	http://www.westminster.gov.uk/environment/planning/planningprocess/planningapplications.cfm
	(Planning application ref: 06/03462/FULL and 0603463/LBC).

Unpaid Fines

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why her Department discontinued the Operation Payback campaign to tackle offenders who do not pay fines.

Harriet Harman: The Operation Payback campaign has been postponed to a date to be fixed, due to operational reasons.

Voting Rights: Prisoners

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the voting rights of convicted prisoners in Scotland in UK parliamentary elections following the recent Scottish court of session ruling.

Bridget Prentice: The recent judgment in the Scottish courts simply accords with the final view given by the European Court of Human Rights in the earlier Hirst judgment. The voting rights of convicted prisoners in Scotland have not changed as a result of either judgment.
	In line with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, and in light of the Hirst judgment, consultation is underway on the current arrangements in the UK which bar all convicted offenders held in UK prisons and mental hospitals from voting in UK elections. The consultation period ends on 7 March. Following this, and a second stage consultation document, proposals will be put before Parliament.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Bokhari Family

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Bokhari family of Grimsby received a home visit to assess their medical needs before the recent early morning immigration enforcement visit.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 20 February 2007 with the information requested.

British Citizens: Convictions Abroad

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what procedures  (a) are in place at the Serious Organised Crime Agency and  (b) were in place at its predecessor organisations to enter information received from Foreign Office consular staff on convictions of British citizens abroad into the Police National Computer;
	(2)  how many notifications  (a) the Serious Organised Crime Agency and  (b) its predecessor organisations received from his Department of British citizens convicted abroad in each of the last five years; and what percentage were entered on to the Police National Computer.

John Reid: The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has housed the United Kingdom National Central Bureau (NCB) for Interpol since 1 April 2006. Previously the NCB was housed within the pre-cursor agency the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). The process undertaken in SOCA is the same as it was in NCIS.
	While the NCB is not responsible for the collection and recording of information on UK nationals who commit crime abroad, the unit will receive such information during the course of international law enforcement co-operation, which is its remit. The sources of information will vary, but may include information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. An initial assessment of the quality of the information is made. If there is insufficient identification material, more details are requested. Research is carried out against available databases in order to identify if the individual is already known or of interest to UK law enforcement. Where sufficient details of identity and offence are received, the case officer will forward this to the National Identification Service. Any existing record will be updated, or a new criminal record will be created.
	Since many notifications will be contained within investigative casework, neither SOCA, nor NCIS before it, has statistics which would accurately reflect the number of conviction notifications received, or what percentage of these have been added to the Police National Computer.

Burglary

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of distraction burglaries that are reported to the police; and what proportion of reported distraction burglaries resulted in a conviction in the last period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Figures are not available on the proportion of distraction burglaries reported to the police. However, research suggests that distraction burglaries are under- reported for many reasons including embarrassment and fear, and police and partners are engaged in a range of initiatives to encourage greater reporting.
	11,552 distraction burglaries were recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2005-06. The subset of domestic burglary convictions that were a result of distraction burglary is not available centrally.

Community Policing: Liverpool

Jane Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crime wardens are working with Merseyside police within the boundary of Liverpool city council who are funded by  (a) Home Office resources,  (b) neighbourhood renewal fund resources,  (c) new deal for communities resources and  (d) local authority resources.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 28 February 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	The street crime warden service is operated by Liverpool city council's city watch. 43 street crime warden posts are currently funded through the Neighbourhood renewal fund by CLG. An expansion of the service, from April 2007, will see an additional 38 posts created to be funded through the safer and stronger communities block of the local area agreement by CLG and HO. No street crime warden posts are directly funded by the Home Office or from the new deal for communities or local authority resources.

Crime: Victims

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to ensure that funding from the Victims Fund is made available to develop restorative justice services for those victims who want to meet the offender.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The intention of the Victims Fund grant scheme is to fund voluntary organisations that provide direct specialist support services to victims of particular crime types. It is open for these organisations to include restorative justice initiatives within their application for funding.

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which fixed assets his Department sold for more than 10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

Liam Byrne: The table sets out the Department's fixed asset sales for 2004-05 and 2005-06. The table provides details of the asset, sale value and the date of the sale. Information on the purchaser could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information on the date of sale of some assets is not readily available for 2005-06 and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Date of Sale  Description  Sale proceeds () 
			  2004-05   
			 1 October 2004 Land (Prison). Finnamore Wood 820,930 
			 1 January 2005 Land (Farm). Stocken 181,888 
			 1 February 2005 Land (Farm). Hollesley Bay 484,000 
			 1 February 2005 Land (Farm), Lindholme, Misterton 104,054 
			 1 March 2005 Land, Hollesly 197,000 
			 1 March 2005 Land, Hollesly 61,801 
			 1 March 2005 Land. Wayland Social Club 247,500 
			 1 March 2005 Land, Ashford Road, Leicester 603,236 
			 1 June 2004 8 Hoods Farm, Aylesbury 250,000 
			 1 June 2004 Blantyre House, Broadoak Horden 215,050 
			 1 June2004 14 Langdale Drive, Liverpool 160,000 
			 1 June2004 15 Blackabrook Avenue, Dartmoor 66,000 
			 1 August 2004 32 Bryony Way, Feltham 190,282 
			 1 September 2004 55 Georgia Road, Brixton 250,574 
			 1 September 2004 34 Meadow Road, Long Lartin 157,000 
			 1 February 2005 5 Orchard Way, Stanford Hill 87,525 
			 1 February 2005 7 Orchard Way, Stanford Hill 87,627 
			 1 March 2005 Oxley Hollesly 160,000 
			 1 March 2005 Ashford Road, Leicester 900,000 
			
			  2005-06   
			 27 July 2005 Horseferry House, Horseferry Road, London 32,350,000 
			 23 November 2005 8 Derby Street, Prescott 90,123 
			 9 August 2005 Green park Industrial Estate 22,500 
			 7 November 2005 26 Sandon Road 101,843 
			 25 August 2005 4 Haysbrook Avenue 200,619 
			 20 October 2005 Unit 8, Metropolitan Business Park, Blackpool 155,000 
			 30 January 2006 Bean Street, Hull. 175,000 
			  11-13 Cookson Street, Blackpool 161,000 
			 9 March 2006 10-12 Salisbury Street, Deeside 150,000 
			 21 November 2005 7 Spring Gardens, Manningham 142,000 
			 23 December 2005 Clarence House Hall 200,000 
			 16 August 2005 Clint Mill, Cornmarket. 125,000 
			 15 February 2006 18 Woodlands Road 302,000 
			  1 Stanley Place, Chester 635,000 
			 27 January 2006 34 Foundation Street 700,000 
			 6 October 2005 Silverlands 615,351 
			 6 October 2005 210 Chiswick Road, London 1,717,737 
			 10 March 2006 1 Woodgreen Place 170,038 
			 20 October 2005  100,001 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 36,787 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 36,787 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 13,795 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 27,590 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 110,361 
			  Telecom system spares disposal 18,393 
			 1 July 2005 Land (Farm) Hollesley Bay 104,025 
			 1 July 2005 Land (Farm) Hollesley Bay 342,000 
			 1 July 2005 Land (Farm) North Sea Camp 550,000 
			 1 July 2005 Land (Prison) Springhill 100,000 
			 1 August 2005 Land, Stores Corner 22,278 
			 1 December 2005 Land (Farm), Lindholme, Misterton 880,000 
			 1 December 2005 Land Aldington 3,556,225 
			 31 December 2005 Land (Prison), Rochester 37,012 
			 1 February 2006 Land Lancaster Farms Oatland 405,900 
			 1 February 2006 Land Lancaster Farms 900,000 
			 1 March 2006 Land (Farm) New Hall 66,500 
			 1 July 2005 Farm Buildings, Hollesley Bay 74,673 
			 1 July 2005 86 Limpsfield Avenue, Brixton 189,000 
			 1 July 2005 52 Jebb Avenue, Brixton 159,000 
			 1 July 2005 57 Jebb Avenue, Brixton 159,000 
			 1 July 2005 43 Woodvale Avenue, Brixton 216,000 
			 1 July 2005 25 Heights Terrace, Dover 84,000 
			 1 July 2005 17 Ruggles Brise Road, Feltham 170,000 
			 1 July 2005 School House, Grove Road, Portland 185,000 
			 1 July 2005 45 First Avenue, Wormwood Scrubs, London 300,000 
			 1 July 2005 59 First Avenue, Wormwood Scrubs, London 300,000 
			 1 July 2005 51 Craignish, Brixton 252,500 
			 1 August 2005 17 Brooklyn House, Brixton 100,000 
			 1 August 2005 60 Jebb Avenue, Brixton 154,000 
			 1 August 2005 78 Jebb Avenue, Brixton 158,000 
			 1 August 2005 82 Jebb Avenue, Brixton 160,000 
			 1 August 2005 86 First Avenue, Wormwood Scrubs, London 300,000 
			 1 December 2005 Farm Buildings, Lindholme 500,000 
			 1 December 2005 20 Lysander Close, The Mount 230,000 
			 1 February 2006 Farm Buildings, Kirkham 1,108,365 
			 1 February 2006 8 The Drive, Littlehey 185,000 
			 1 February 2006 24 Buckley Farm Lane, Buckley Hall 86,681 
			 1 February 2006 22 Buckley Farm Lane, Buckley Hall 86,681 
			 1 March 2006 26 Burley Crescent, Ashwell 95,000 
			 1 March 2006 3 Pollards Wood Road, Brixton 231,383 
			 1 March 2006 46 Armley Grange, Leeds 147,000

Departments: Furniture

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many items of furniture were  (a) lost and  (b) stolen from his Department in each year since 1997; and what the value was of those items in each year.

Liam Byrne: This information is not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Surveys

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether staff satisfaction surveys are carried out at the  (a) core Home Office,  (b) Immigration and Nationality Directorate and  (c) National Offender Management Service.

John Reid: Staff in the core Home Office, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and National Offender Management Service participate in the Home Office staff survey. In January 2007 we began a short monthly survey, sent to a random sample of staff in the core Home Office and IND.

Deportation: Administrative Delays

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) target and  (b) average time taken was in the past 12 months for consideration of an application for revocation of a Deportation Order under Immigration and Nationality Directorate Rule 390.

Liam Byrne: There have not been any specific targets set for dealing with the relatively small number of considerations for revocations of deportation orders actioned by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). Revocation of an order does not mean the subject may re-enter the UK. It only makes them eligible to apply for entry under the Immigration Rules. Consideration of these applications is not measured using average times but rather is included in the total for all non-asylum, non-charged postal applications. These are measured against the published service standards set for IND's Managed Migration which are that 25 per cent. of all applications should be completed within 20 working days, and 30 per cent. completed within 70 working days. As of 31 January 2007, 43 per cent. of these applications are completed within 20 working days and 87 per cent. are completed within 70 working days. The above data are not provided under the National Statistics protocols. They have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis is for the assessment of the Immigration Service that asylum seekers returned to Kinshasa will not be at risk of mistreatment; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 February 2007
	Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Information obtained from a wide range of governmental and non-governmental and human rights organisation sources is provided to asylum claim decision makers in country information reports which are published on a regular basis. The most recent Home Office country information report on DRC was published on 14 February 2007, and can be accessed on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html.

Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has chartered a flight to return a group of asylum seekers to Kinshasa on 26 February 2007.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 26 February 2007
	I can confirm that a charter flight to Kinshasa for nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo who had no legal basis to remain in the UK was arranged for Monday 26 February 2007.

Deportation: Somalia

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued in the last five years relating to the deportation to Somalia of Somali nationals convicted of a crime in the UK.

Liam Byrne: The Country of Origin Information Service provides the most accurate and up-to-date information on Somalia for use by IND officials involved in considering foreign national prisoners for deportation. This can be accessed at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/somalia-140207.doc

Deportation: Somalia

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Somali nationals convicted of a crime in the UK were deported to Somalia in  (a) the last three months,  (b) the last six months and  (c) the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The Department publishes statistics on the number of Somali nationals removed from the UK. Information relating to the third quarter of 2006 has been published on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/asylumq306.pdf
	The document is too large to attach so I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library.

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of domestic violence reported to the police involved  (a) male,  (b) female and  (c) child victims in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office does not routinely collect this information, although a gender breakdown of victims of domestic violence incidents reported to the police would be available at police force area level. Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) guidance states that officers should identify and record whether a child was present when the incident occurred, or if children are resident at the house in question.
	National prevalence data on domestic violence by gender is collected through the British Crime Survey's Inter-Personal Violence (IPV) module. The 2004-05 IPV suggests that about one in four women and one in six men had been a victim of domestic violence (current/ex-partner) since the age of 16, and about 6 per cent. of women and 4 per cent. of men had experienced domestic violence (current/ex-partner) in the last year (although women were more likely than men to suffer greater injury and be classed as chronic victims).

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence co-ordinators there were in each  (a) local authority area and  (b) police authority area in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 21 February 2007
	. The Home Department does not have access to this information over the preceding years.
	In relation to the hon. Member's latter question concerning the number of domestic violence co-ordinators in each police authority area, we can confirm that every police force in England and Wales has a domestic violence champion.

Entry Clearances

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals who had their initial application for asylum refused were subsequently granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 27 February 2007
	The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
	Information on asylum is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Harmondsworth Centre

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the private contractor running Harmondsworth Immigration Detention Centre will reimburse his Department for the costs of handling press inquiries in relation to the disturbances on 29 November.

John Reid: Harmondsworth Detention Services Ltd. (HDSL) that operates Harmondsworth IRC is not liable to reimburse the Secretary of State's departmental costs for the handling of press inquiries relating to the disturbances of 29 November.

Identity and Passport Service: Consultants

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of  (a) contracts entered into with consultants and  (b) fees paid to consultants by the Identity and Passport Service in the last two years were on the basis of (i) fixed fee, (ii) fixed fee plus bonus and (iii) daily rates.

John Reid: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is unable to answer this question as its system for recording consultancy contracts does not provide the level of detail requested. The information could be obtained from other records only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of human trafficking were notified to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last five years; and in how many cases action was taken.

Liam Byrne: The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, established in October 2006 is creating a United Kingdom wide database of all potential human trafficking cases encountered by law enforcement agencies. All cases notified to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate are investigated and where appropriate referred to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
	The Immigration and Nationality Directorate Intelligence Service (INDIS) dealt with 13 major investigations into organised human trafficking since April 2002. These resulted in 17 arrests and the convictions, so far, of seven individuals. Other sections of the Home Office have also been involved in the investigation of trafficking.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate: Correspondence

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of all internal memoranda he sent to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate between 15 January 2007 and 26 January 2007.

Liam Byrne: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what locations foreign nationals will be entitled to register their biometric information for a biometric immigration document.

John Reid: For foreign nationals required to apply for a biometric immigration document, their biometric information will be verified and recorded through existing immigration processes and at public caller facilities, enhanced as necessary.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what biometric information he will require from foreign nationals registering for a biometric immigration document.

John Reid: Subject to the successful progress of any necessary legislation we plan to record 11 biometrics: 10 fingerprints and the face for those registering for a biometric immigration document.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fee he plans to charge for foreign nationals to register for a biometric immigration document; and whether fees will recover the full administration costs of the system.

John Reid: Subject to the successful progress of any necessary legislation we will announce the fee payable by foreign nationals for a biometric immigration document to Parliament in the usual way when we have determined the full costs of the system. The fees and charges guidance issued by HM Treasury makes clear that we would normally expect to recover the full administrative costs of the system.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of registering foreign nationals already resident in the UK for a biometric immigration document.

John Reid: In line with my commitment to Parliament we have undertaken to give the estimated costs and cost-benefit analysis in our next six-monthly ID card cost report.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what deadline he plans to set for the registering of foreign nationals for a biometric immigration document.

John Reid: Subject to the successful progress of any necessary legislation from 2008, we will roll out biometric immigration documents progressively to qualifying foreign nationals from outside the EEA who are already in the UK and reapply to stay here.

Immigration Controls: Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether information held for the purposes of a biometric immigration document will be destroyed if the individual  (a) leaves the UK and  (b) is granted British citizenship.

John Reid: Regulations under the UK Borders Bill will be made so that some immigration information about an individual may be retained if they leave the country, so that we will be able to identify them upon their return. Other information that is no longer required will be destroyed.
	When an individual is granted British citizenship, information we have obtained when they applied for a biometric immigration document may be retained if it is required for another enactment, such as under the Identity Card Act 2006 for the national identity register. The normal requirements for the destruction of the information will not apply in such circumstances. Information that is no longer required will be destroyed.

Immigration: Custodial Treatment

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people held in the UK on immigration warrants are resident at  (a) detention centres and  (b) prisons.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 22 February 2007
	The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007 to provide an update on progress in the deportation of foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.

Immigration: Custodial Treatment

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people subject to immigration control died in custody in each of the last 10 years.

John Reid: The available information, detailed in the following table, is in respect of immigration detainees in Immigration Removal Centres.
	
		
			  Deaths (including apparently self-inflicted deaths) in Immigration Removal Centres 
			 1997 0 
			 1998 0 
			 1999 0 
			 2000 1 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 4 
			 2005 2 
			 2006 1

Members: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter to him of 25 January 2007 from the hon. Member for Castle Point.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 23 February 2007
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 21 February 2007.

National Offender Management Trusts

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the proposed division of assets in respect of the national offender management trusts will be; and whether the proposed trusts will be empowered to hold reserves.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Schedule 2 of the Offender Management Bill provides for the Secretary of State to make a scheme for the transfer of property in the transition from probation boards to trusts. Probation boards' assets comprise mainly office machinery, IT equipment and vehicles. The probation estate is, and will remain, the property of the Crown.
	In general, it is envisaged that, where services currently run by a board transfer to a trust, the corresponding assets will transfer with them.
	Schedule 1 of the Bill provides that a probation trust may not invest sums not immediately required for achieving its purposes without the approval of the Secretary of State.

National Offender Management Trusts

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library summaries of the principal responses to his Department's consultation on the creation of national offender management trusts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In October 2005, the Government published a consultation paper, Restructuring Probation to Reduce Reoffending. 748 written submissions were received. In March 2006, the Government published a list of the respondents and a summary of their responses in Working with probation to protect the public and reduce reoffending. I am happy to make available on request copies of specific responses.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Pensions

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the pension arrangements for chief officers in the Probation Service are; and what plans he has for the future of such arrangements following the creation of the national offender management trusts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All chief officers are currently members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. The intention at this present moment in time is that they will continue to remain so upon moving to trust status.

North Sea Camp Prison

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what capital expenditure there was on North Sea Camp Prison, Lincolnshire in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In the last 10 years, there has been 2.323 million of capital expenditure on North Sea Camp prison as set out in the following table.
	
		
			  North Sea Camp, capital investment (000) 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Total 
			 Roofing 124  124 
			 Sea defences 240 21 5266 
			 Fire alarms  197 28 6   231 
			 Lightning protection 79  79 
			 Modular temporary unit  1,177 39 48   1,264 
			 Ancillaries  191 27 7   225 
			 Modular library   103 24 7  134 
			 Total 364 218 33 6 79 1,368 169 79 7 0 2,323

Offenders: Republic of Ireland

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish nationals have  (a) applied for and  (b) been granted revocation of a Deportation Order under Immigration and Nationality Department Rule 390 in each of the last five years; and how many (i) applications and (ii) revocations were made in total under this order in each year.

Liam Byrne: Revocation of deportation orders are considered by Managed Migration's General Group in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. Records do not show any revocation applications made by Irish nationals during the last five years. Revocation of an order does not mean the subject may re-enter the UK. It only makes them eligible to apply for entry under the Immigration Rules. A table of the number of applications and revocations from all nationalities made to General Group in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		
			   Application for revocation of deportation order( 1)  Revocation of deportation order( 1) 
			 2002 10 10 
			 2003 50 20 
			 2004 40 20 
			 2005 40 30 
			 2006 50 30 
			 Total 190 110 
			 (1) Figures rounded to the nearest 10.  Note: The above data is not provided under the National Statistics protocols. It has been derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the Identity and Passport Service's marketing plan for the Passport Validation Service.

John Reid: The objectives of the Passport Validation Service will be set out in the Identity and Passport Service Corporate and Business Plan, which will be published shortly.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the service level agreements of the Identity and Passport Service's Passport Validation Service.

John Reid: The Passport Validation Service will need to perform to meet the Identity and Passport Service's key performance indicators. IPS's updated key performance indicators will be published in the spring. These will be made publicly available on our website www.ips.gov.uk.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations are  (a) accredited to use the Passport Validation Service and  (b) in the process of becoming accredited.

John Reid: At the end of January 2007, there were 18 organisations using the Passport Validation Service (PVS) and there are a number of interested potential users in discussions with the Identity and Passport Service at present.
	PVS is used by private sector organisations regulated by the Financial Services Authority that have to comply with the 'Know Your Customer' statement of good practice requirements. Customers include a number of high street banks and mortgage providers that have gone through a thorough accreditation process and have entered into contractual agreements with the Identity and Passport Service.
	Other Government Departments also use PVS as part of their identity management processes and are listed on the IPS website at www.ips.gov.uk.

Passports

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Identity and Passport Service produces fictional passports for use by the creative industries.

John Reid: Passports requested in a fictitious name for entertainment purposes such as television, theatre or film are issued by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) on completion of checks to verify the purpose for which the document is required. The IPS require such passports to be returned and destroyed immediately after use.

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information can be accessed by an employee of the Identity and Passport Service in the course of conducting a Passport Validation Service check; what training they receive; and what penalties are in place for misuse of the information.

John Reid: Employees of the Identity and Passport Service conducting a Passport Validation Service check have access to a limited number of passport records which are necessary to conduct the check effectively. These are largely the same as the information on the face of the passport:
	Surname
	Forename(s)
	Nationality
	Date of Birth
	Gender
	Place of Birth
	Date of Issue
	Place of Issue
	Date of Expiry
	Photograph image and signature (in the case of digital passports)
	Additionally, any markers on the passport record can be seen (e.g. to indicate a lost or stolen passport).
	The training received by call centre operators that relates specifically to carrying out a PVS check includes (a) an introduction to PVS and PVS processes, (b) telephone techniques and customer care, (c) an introduction to PVS policy, procedures and legal obligations and (d) specific training on PVS IT systems.
	All staff are subject to the Civil Service Code and IPS's Code of Conduct which state all staff must:
	sign and comply with the terms of the Official Secrets Act;
	not disclose official information to unauthorised parties;
	comply with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1999 in dealing with personal information;
	have no unauthorised contact with the media (all approaches by the media must be referred to the Communications Section); and
	not seek or accept any personal gain or advancement by improper use of official information or influence.
	Any staff in breach of this would be subject to IPS's disciplinary procedure which could result in their dismissal and possible criminal proceedings.

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what databases are accessed in the process of a personal identity project biographical footprint search.

John Reid: Strengthening identity authentication is a stated business objective for IPS in its corporate and business plans. The main IPS objectives of the Personal Identity Process (PIP) are:
	To strengthen the process of authenticating the identity of passport applicants through independent checks;
	To deter and help detect fraudulent applications.
	The most difficult thing for an identity fraudster to do is to create a history for a false identity. Therefore, the concept of PIP is to check information supplied by passport applicants against information held on private and public sector databases in order to help confirm that the identity claimed is a real person who is alive and, importantly, who has been active in society at the address given. This is known as a social or biographical 'footprint'.
	To automate the PIP checks, IPS has a contract with a credit reference agency, Equifax, which currently hosts the PIP decision engine. None of the applicant's financial details are included within the PIP checks. The checks establish only that the applicant's details are present on the databases..
	Currently, PIP checks are made against the following commercially available databases:
	Electoral roll
	BT records
	Credit records
	County court judgments (1999)
	HALO deathsa database compiled from Governmental and funeral directors' records
	ONS deaths (England and Wales 1983-2003)

Passports: Personal Records

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Personal Identity Process (PIP) biographic footprint checks are carried out by all passport application offices; and when the PIP was first used at each office.

John Reid: PIP checks are carried out in all IPS regional offices on all first-time adult (16 years and older) applications.
	PIP was introduced into the IPS regional offices as follows:
	Glasgow: 10 March 2006
	Liverpool: 17 March 2006
	London: 2 May 2006
	Belfast: 12 May 2006
	Peterborough: 19 May 2006
	Newport: 9 June 2006
	Durham: 7 July 2006

Pentonville Prison

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the inquiry into staff conduct at HM Prison Pentonville.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to him on 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 123W

Pentonville Prison: Accommodation

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes were made at Pentonville Prison to increase the certified normal accommodation capacity by 116 places.

John Reid: There has been no change to the certified normal accommodation at Pentonville. Following the suspension of a number of staff in August 2006, the operational capacity was reduced by 116 places because there was not enough staff to ensure an appropriate level of supervision. A subsequent increase in staffing levels enabled the prison to reintroduce these places in January 2007.

Pentonville Prison: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken by the Professional Standards Unit within the service in relation to staff conduct at HM Prison Pentonville.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Professional Standards Unit does not undertake investigations. A local internal investigation looking into the alleged staff wronging at HMP Pentonville is currently under way.

Pentonville Prison: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether issues of professional standards in relation to the conduct of staff at HM Prison Pentonville arising from the recent investigation have been brought to the attention of Ministers for decision; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The investigations referred to by the hon. Member are currently an internal matter for the Prison Service. I expect to receive a report when the matter is concluded.

Police Cells

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were housed in police cells on the most recent date for which figures are available.

John Reid: On Friday 16 2007, 14 prisoners were held in police cells.

Prison Sentences

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those sentenced in criminal courts in England and Wales received immediate custodial sentences in each of the last five years for which records are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is published in 'Sentencing Statistics 2005 England and Wales' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 03/07) (Table 2.3 on page 35). This publication is on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0307.pdf

Prison Service: Absenteeism

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policy guidelines have been issued by his Department to the Prison Service on sickness and absence; and what the average number of days lost per Prison Service employee through sickness and absence was in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Office and HM Prison Service are working together, to share best practice in reducing sickness absence.
	The average number of working days lost per person in the public sector Prison Service in 2006 was 11.6 days (provisional out-turn) compared with 14.72 days in 2002-03. Sickness absence has fallen by 21.2 per cent. in the public sector Prison Service since 2002-03.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Prison Service Management Board has taken to prevent prison staff corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A programme of work is currently being constructed to strengthen the Prison Service's approach to tackling staff corruption.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the recommendations of the joint study by HM Prison Service and the Metropolitan Police Service on preventing corruption in the Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no plans to publish the recommendations from this report but they form part of the work being taken forward to strengthen the Prison Service's approach to tackling staff corruption.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible within HM Prison Service for anti-corruption policy development and practice; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Professional Standards Unit is responsible for anti-corruption policy, and governors and area managers, via their area and local professional standards managers, are responsible for its application.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what anti-corruption training is provided to employees of HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A training package focusing on the use of intelligence-gathering techniques is offered to all area professional standards managers, local professional standards managers and their deputies.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to encourage joint working between police and HM Prison Service to prevent corruption within prison establishments; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At organisational level regular tasking meetings are held in establishments to discuss intelligence received about staff corruption. These meetings may involve the prison's police liaison officer. At a strategic level, the police continue to offer the Prison Service advice on how to tackle staff corruption.

Prison Service: Corruption

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms exist to ensure that resources available to HM Prison Service to address problems of staff corruption are allocated efficiently; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This will be considered as part of the programme to strengthen the Prison Service's professional standards approach.

Prison Service: Manpower

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the director-general of the Prison Service to discuss the staffing of the Prison Service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Home Secretary has met the director-general on a number of occasions, none of which were specifically or solely to discuss the staffing of the Prison Service.

Prison Service: Political Parties

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he holds on the political affiliations of prison staff; what regulations govern the membership of political and other organisations by prison staff; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not hold information on the political affiliation of staff. The Prison Service has a policy that does not permit staff to be members of any group or organisation it considers to be promoting racist policy or philosophy.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the merits of the regulation of professional standards within HM Prison Service  (a) centrally and (b) independently; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A programme of work is currently being constructed to strengthen the Prison Service's approach to tackling staff corruption. This issue will be considered as part of that programme.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) roles and  (b) responsibilities are of HM Prison Service Professional Standards Unit intelligence section; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The main functions include: maintaining a database of all information received; gathering and disseminating intelligence as required; providing analytical assistance; providing national analyses; and, acting as a conduit for the flow of intelligence from external sources. This role will be reviewed as part of the programme of work to strengthen the Prison Service's approach to professional standards.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are appointed within HM Prison Service with dedicated responsibility for professional standards issues; what training and resources were made available to those in this post for 2005-06; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Each prison and area office is required to have a local professional standards manager. In addition, the central Professional Standards Unit has 12 staff.
	A training package focusing on the legal use of intelligence-gathering techniques has been developed by the Professional Standards Unit. This training is offered to all area professional standards manager, local professional standards managers and their deputies.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place to provide independent investigative quality control for investigations into professional standards amongst staff in HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Investigations are carried out through the operational line by the Prison Service or referred to the police for action. The commissioning officer of each investigation holds responsibility for the quality of each investigation.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption hotline within HM Prison Service in contributing to the tackling of professional standards issues.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No assessment has been made. This will be reviewed with as part of the programme to strengthen the Prison Service's professional standards approach.

Prison Service: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what processes and procedures are employed by those conducting professional standards inquiries in HM Prison Service when interviewing witnesses and suspects; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The role of Prison Service staff focuses on intelligence gathering. If criminal activity is suspected the matter is handed over to the local police force who will interview any witnesses or suspects in accordance with police procedures.

Prisoners

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the main stages are in the process of prisoner categorisation; what changes were made to the process in the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: Categorisation principles are set out in Prison Service Order 0900, a copy of which is in the House Library. There have been no changes in the last two years.

Prisoners: Deportation

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are subject to deportation proceedings.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 22 February 2007
	The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Lin Homer, wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007 to provide an update on progress in the deportation of foreign national prisoners. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals prisoners in prisons were  (a) aged over 65 and  (b) classified as mentally disordered as at 1 December 2006.

John Reid: holding answer 6 February 2007
	In response to  (a), on 30 November 2006 there were 74 foreign national prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales aged 65 and over. In response to  (b) information on the numbers of prisoners with mental illness is not centrally collected.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners were being detained as at 31 December 2006 for immigration purposes at prison establishments beyond their release date, broken down by prison; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House. It contains a snapshot of the number of time-served foreign national prisoners who are awaiting deportation in both the IND Removals Estate and in prisons.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners whose automatic release date has already passed were detained in  (a) prison service accommodation and  (b) other custody facilities on the most recent date for which information is available.

John Reid: The director-general of the immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February 2007. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House. It contains a snapshot of the number of time-served foreign national prisoners who are awaiting deportation in both the IND removals estate and in prisons.

Prisons

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents involving  (a) unlocked doors and  (b) stolen keys were reported at each prison in each of the last 10 years.

John Reid: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Drugs

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people underwent drug detoxification in prison in each of the last five years.

John Reid: The following table indicates the number of entrants to prison detoxification and drug maintenance programmes for the years 2001-02 to 2005-06. Full year figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.
	
		
			   Entrants 
			 2001-02 41,765 
			 2002-03 50,701 
			 2003-04 57,891 
			 2004-05 53,903 
			 2005-06 53,323 
		
	
	These data have been extracted from the prison service PSimon database.

Prisons: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are in each prison in Lancashire; and what the operational capacity of each prison is.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 February 2007
	Information on the number of prisoners and the operational capacity of each prison in Lancashire can be found in the table.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Prison numbers and operational capacity in Lancashire prisons, January 2007 
			   Operational capacity  Population 
			 Buckley Hall 385 381 
			 Garth 619 611 
			 Hindley 431 390 
			 Kirkham 590 516 
			 Lancaster 243 195 
			 Lancaster Farms 527 534 
			  Note: Lancaster Farms' population figure includes authorised absences.  Source: http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/assets/documents/100026F9pop_bull_jan_07.doc

Prisons: Private Sector

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which  (a) prisons,  (b) young offenders institutions and  (c) other custodial units in the UK are run by private companies; how much was paid from public funds to each such company in each year since they took on the management of these institutions; what the staff turnover rate was in each such institution in each of the last five years; and what proportion of staff in such institutions had more than five years continuous service at the same facility as of 1 January 2007;
	(2)  how many assaults there were against  (a) staff and  (b) other inmates by prisoners in each privately-run custodial institution;
	(3)  what proportion of staff in privately-run custodial institutions are from ethnic minority backgrounds, broken down by grade.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is provided in the tables.
	
		
			  Staff turnover expressed as a percentage of the total staff for each year since 2002 
			   2006  2005  2004  2003  2002 
			 Altcourse 5 11 9 10 (1) 
			 Ashfield 19.51 29.41 (1) 34.60 (1) 
			 Bronzefield 17.17 30.55 27.25 (2) (2) 
			 Doncaster 14.63 17.97 19.76 9.07 (1) 
			 Dovegate 21.69 22.35 41.50 43.90 (1) 
			 Forest Bank 19.79 25.50 25.52 25.30 22.74 
			 Lowdham Grange 30.19 24.70 29.08 30.94 (1) 
			 Parc 12.94 19.47 16.17 27.12 23.14 
			 Peterborough 29.16 18.81 (3) (3) (3) 
			 Rye Hill 15 39 27 36 (1) 
			 Wolds 10 11 11 8 (1) 
			 (1) Unavailable (2) Opened June 2004 (3) Opened March 2005 
		
	
	These figures show the total amount of public funds paid to each company who run contracted prisons and young offenders institutions. These figures were previously published in the annual Office for Contracted Prisons statement of performance for 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	The figures provided for 2006-07 are a predicted forecast of the amount to be paid from public funds to each company.
	Figures for previous years of the management contract are unavailable as these were previously managed by HMPS.
	
		
			   2006-07 forecast  2005-06  2004-05 
			 GSL 55,163,032 53,366,516 52,422,722 
			 G4S 36,247,142 33,539,477 32,365,812 
			 SERCO 82,479,719 76,504,512 71,938,776 
			 KALYX (formally UKDS) 70,727,622 (1)42,801,211 (2)21,877,576 
			 (1) Peterborough opened during 2005-06 so part figures have been excluded. (2) Bronzefield and Peterborough opened during 2004-05 so part figures have been excluded. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of staff employed in each prison with over five years' service at one site as at 1 January 2007 
			   Five+ years service  Percentage( 1) 
			 Altcourse (GSL) 300 59 
			 Ashfield (SERCO) 81 17.96 
			 Doncaster (SERCO) 360 58.35 
			 Dovegate (SERCO) 117 26.96 
			 Forest Bank (KALYX) 146 35.50 
			 Lowdham Grange (SERCO) 108 36 
			 Parc (G4S) (2) 45.86 
			 Rye Hill (GSL) 58 21 
			 Wolds (GSL) 129 60 
			 (1) The number of staff with over five years' service expressed as a percentage of the total staff. (2) Not provided.  Note: HMP Bronzefield and Peterborough have been excluded from this table as neither have been open long enough for staff to accrue five or more years' service.

Prisons: Staff Searches

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of staff searches as a counter trafficking tool in HM Prison Service; whether he plans to review the use of staff searches; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No national assessment has taken place since publication of the review of searching in 2000, and there are no plans to further review the use of staff searches. However, the Standards Audit Unit assess the quality of searching in all establishments to ensure that searching meets each establishment's security needs set out in local security strategies.

Prisons: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role is played by HM Prison Service Professional Standards Unit investigation support section in investigations into professional standards issues within prison establishments; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The main functions include: providing advice and training; maintaining a database of formal investigations; providing analytical reports; and identifying areas of good practice.

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Probation Risk Screening Tool utilised by the probation service in the courts will be available to assist with the preparation of Fast Delivery Reports.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The risk of serious harm screening tool is already used in courts across England and Wales to inform the preparation of fast delivery reports.

Probation Service: Disciplinary Proceedings

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Probation Service staff under investigation for serious further offences have a right to union representation.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Probation staff under investigation in serious further offence cases are entitled to seek Trade Union representation, but they would not be entitled to exercise it by having a representative present at Serious Further Offence interviews. The decision as to whether or not to represent the individual in any follow up investigation concerning capability or disciplinary action as a result of evidence highlighted at the Serious Further Offences interviews, ultimately rests with the Trade Union concerned.

Probation: Contracts

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether probation boards have a legal duty  (a) to contract out probation work to other bodies and  (b) to cooperate with (i) prisons, (ii) police, (iii) voluntary sector organisations and (iv) other agencies to reduce reoffending.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 February 2007
	Under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000, Probation Boards may contract out probation work but do not have a legal duty to do so. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 sets out the legal obligations on local Boards to co-operate with the police, prisons and other bodies to manage the risk posed by certain offenders. This is in addition to the general aim of Boards to reduce re-offending under Section two of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000.

Probation: Finance

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what additional funding and resources have been provided to the Probation Service following the increase of non-custodial sentences being imposed by the courts due to prison overcrowding;
	(2)  what additional  (a) funding and  (b) other resources have been provided to the Probation Service following the recent increase of non-custodial sentences imposed by the courts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government believe that dangerous, violent and seriously persistent offenders should go to prison, and for a long time if necessary, but most offenders can better and more effectively be punished in the community.
	The National Probation Service (NPS) has received a real terms increase of 39 per cent. in Resource funding since 2001-02 to meet the cost of increased workload and intensity of supervision. The funding for 2007-08 is not yet finalised, but at present it is planned for the NPS to receive an increase of 3.7 per cent. in 2007-08.

Probation: Standards

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to merge NOMS Probation Standards with the Probation National Standards.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The probation service's National Standards are being merged with the NOMS Offender Management Standards.

Probation: Standards

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the consistency between the National Standards for Probation issued by the National Offender Management Service and the Probation National Standards; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 February 2007
	The probation service currently operates under a set of National Standards introduced in 2005. Another set of standards, the NOMS Offender Management Standards, was published last year but has not been implemented. There are some inconsistencies between the two sets of standards but work is underway to merge them into a single coherent document.

Sadiq Mohammed

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken by his Department to withdraw the passport of Sadiq Mohammed.

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has revoked the passport of Sadiq Mohammed.

Sibtain Bokhari

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a case manager  (a) advised on and  (b) managed the asylum application of Mr. Sibtain Bokhari and his family.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 20 February 2007 with the information requested.

Wandsworth Prison: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who was responsible for authorising the bonus payments for staff made as a consequence of the performance test bid at HM Prison Wandsworth; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: It is not Prison Service policy to comment on any aspect of bonuses received by individual members of staff.

Work Permits

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued for citizens of  (a) Africa,  (b) Latin America,  (c) South Asia and  (d) East Asia in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Table 1 shows the number of work permit applications which were approved for overseas nationals, in the period 1997 to 2006, from  (a) Africa,  (b) Latin America,  (c) South Asia and  (d) South East Asia (not East Asia).
	The listing shows which countries have been included under each region of the world.
	
		
			  Table 1: number of work permit approvals per year 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Africa 5,271 7,423 9,828 13,432 22,374 27,778 25,536 24,919 20,908 18,284 175,753 
			 Latin America 1,228 1,436 1,553 2,173 2,512 3,064 3,275 3,775 4,014 4,915 27,945 
			 South Asia 9,011 12,395 13,289 23,400 35,099 42,635 51,126 69,040 61,235 69,184 386,414 
			 South East Asia 1,401 2,096 2,298 2,735 4,582 5,788 6,123 6,587 5,486 6,018 43,114 
			  Note: The figures include all individuals who were approved as part of a group application. The figures provided are not national statistics but are based on provisional management information and may be subject to change. 
		
	
	 Definitions of regions for this PQ answer
	 South East Asia:
	Brunei
	Cambodia
	Christmas Island
	Hong Kong
	Indonesia
	Laos
	Malaysia
	Myanmar
	Singapore
	Thailand
	Vietnam
	 South Asia:
	Bangladesh
	Bhutan
	China
	India
	Maldives
	Nepal
	Pakistan
	Sri Lanka
	 Latin America:
	Argentina
	Belize
	Bolivia
	Brazil
	Chile
	Colombia
	Cuba
	Ecuador
	El Salvador
	Guatemala
	Honduras
	Mexico
	Nicaragua
	Panama
	Paraguay
	Peru
	Surinam
	Uruguay
	 Africa:
	Algeria
	Angola
	Benin
	Botswana
	Burkina Faso
	Burundi
	Cameroon
	Cape Verde
	Central African
	Chad
	Comoros
	Congo
	Djibouti
	Egypt
	Eritrea
	Ethiopia
	Gabon
	Gambia
	Ghana
	Guinea
	Guinea-Bissau
	Ivory Coast
	Kenya
	Lesotho
	Liberia
	Libya
	Madagascar
	Malawi
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Mauritius
	Morocco
	Mozambique
	Namibia
	Niger
	Nigeria
	Rwanda
	Senegal
	Seychelles
	Sierra Leone
	Somalia
	South Africa
	Sudan
	Swaziland
	Tanzania
	Togo
	Tunisia
	Uganda
	Zaire
	Zambia
	Zimbabwe

Work Permits: Doctors

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national medical students have had  (a) to apply for and  (b) to renew their visas or work permits after the completion of their foundation course in order to complete their medical training since the implementation of the new immigration rules in July 2006; and how many such applications have been rejected.

John Reid: Since 1 July 2006 to date, 734 new work permit applications were received and three refused under the 'Post-Graduate Doctors and Dentists' and 'Medical Training Initiatives' categories of the work permit arrangements. 15 of these were work permit extension applications which were all approved.
	The figures provided are based upon provisional management information and may be subject to change.

Work Permits: Doctors

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of non-EEA foreign nationals who will be granted a work permit  (a) to work as a doctor in the NHS and  (b) to complete their training in each of the next five years.

John Reid: The work permit arrangements are demand-led and numbers are not determined by the Home Office. It is for NHS trusts to decide how many work permit applications for qualified or trainee doctors they wish to submit in future. All applications received by Work Permits (UK) will be fully assessed against the work permit criteria.

Written Questions

Richard Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to Question 117755, on immigration, tabled by the hon. Member for Newbury for answer on 30 January.

Liam Byrne: I replied to the hon. Member on 27 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1224W.

Young Offenders: Foreign Nationals

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners aged under 18 were in prisons in England and Wales on 1 December 2006.

John Reid: holding answer 6 February 2007
	On 30 November 2006, there were 188 foreign national prisoners aged under 18 held in all prison establishments including young offender institutions and juvenile units in England and Wales.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Development: Children

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to ensure that consideration of child welfare issues is made when evaluating the benefits of policy proposals on social cohesion.

Phil Woolas: In working to reinforce and strengthen community cohesion, the Government are considering the links between cohesion and the needs of a wide range of groupsincluding children and young people. Research has shown a link between deprivation and poor cohesion and has highlighted disparities in health, education and crime outcomes between young people from different communities. One pillar of the Government's strategy on improving cohesion, Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society, is therefore concerned with tackling disadvantage and inequality, including among children and young people.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what media evaluation reports her Department has produced on council tax in the last 12 months.

Ruth Kelly: The Department has not produced any media evaluation reports on council tax during the last 12 months.

Council Tax: Personal Records

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been produced for local authorities on the use of personal information held for collecting and administering council tax for purposes other than council tax collection.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Minister for Local Government (Mr. Woolas) of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 503W.

Housing: Air Pollution

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of defining zero carbon housing as a lifetime carbon measurement.

Yvette Cooper: In the consultation paper Building a Greener Future, a zero carbon home is defined as having, over a year, zero net carbon emissions from all energy use in the home.
	Over the lifetime of the home, the net carbon emissions from it will of course depend on the behaviour of the people living there. That is why the Government are also committed to providing people with information on how to reduce carbon emissions from their home through the Energy Saving Trust. The Government will also be launching a web-based CO2 calculator in the next few months which will also give people tailored recommendations on how to reduce emissions from their home.

Housing: Air Pollution

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions Ministers in her Department have had with colleagues in the  (a) Department for Trade and Industry and  (b) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on planned low carbon grid electricity and planning for houses.

Yvette Cooper: The proposals set out in the consultation document Building a Future : Towards Zero Carbon Development, published by my Department for consultation on 13 December, were worked up in close consultation with other departments, as well as with the house-building industry, local government and other stakeholders. This document seeks views on the Government's proposals to reduce the carbon footprint of new housing development, as well as on the promotion of renewable energy and low carbon energy supply. Consultation closes on 8 March.

Local Government Executive

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many elected mayors there are in England; and where they are located.

Phil Woolas: There are 12 local authority elected mayors in England as follows:
	Bedford borough council
	Doncaster metropolitan borough council
	Hartlepool borough council
	London borough of Hackney
	London borough of Lewisham
	London borough of Newham
	Mansfield district council
	Middlesbrough council
	North Tyneside council
	Stoke-on-Trent city council
	Torbay council
	Watford borough council

Local Government Executive

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the impact of elected mayors.

Phil Woolas: The study, Evaluating Local Governance, which the Department has commissioned from a team led by the University of Manchester, includes looking at the impact of directly elected mayors. The results, which can be found at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1137115
	include a report Councillors, Officers and Stakeholders in the New Council Constitutions: Findings from the ELG 2005 Sample Survey which show that mayoral authorities are perceived to be outperforming non-mayoral authorities as regards the effectiveness of local leadership.

Local Government Executive

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there are plans to increase the number of elected mayors in towns and cities.

Phil Woolas: The Government believe that direct elections provide the strongest, most visible and accountable local leadership. We are providing in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill that it is for a council, or local people through a referendum, to decide whether they want such leadership.

Local Government Finance: Internet

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government Funding is included in the list of Government websites to be closed.

Ruth Kelly: The Lyons Inquiry will publish its final report around the time of the Budget 2007. The Lyons Inquiry website will be accessible until June 2007. After this date, the website will be held by the National Archive for historic and reference purposes and will be accessible at:
	http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/preservation/webarchive/publicinquiries.htm
	Key reports will also be available on both the Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury websites.

Local Government Services: Leisure

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to publish the working paper on developing the local government leisure services market.

Phil Woolas: We expect to publish the working paper by the end of March 2007.
	This is a working paper which was developed in the context of the report published last November, 'Developing the local government services market to support the long-term strategy for local government'. The overall conclusions from the working paper are already published in that report.

Race Relations Act 1976

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which groups are  (a) defined and  (b) awaiting determination as (i) racial and (ii) ethnic groups under the Race Relations Act 1976; when the definition of each such group was completed; and what (A) criteria and (B) process were used in determining such definitions.

Phil Woolas: The determination of whether a particular group meets the definition of a racial group in the Race Relations Act 1976 is a matter for the courts, rather than the Government. We do not possess a comprehensive list of all court rulings relating to all groups, although the hon. Member may wish to refer to the website of the Commission for Racial Equality (www.cre.gov.uk) which provides examples of significant cases under the Race Relations Act.

Unitary Councils

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will encourage local authorities seeking unitary status to consult local people in a referendum.

Phil Woolas: When preparing their bids, which they have now submitted, it was open to councils to seek the views of local people on their proposals by such means, as they saw fit.
	Those proposals which we believe meet the criteria specified in the Invitation will proceed to stakeholder consultation which we intend to be for a 12-week period from end March to end June 2007. Within this period it will be open to anyone to make representations to the Secretary of State on the proposals.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Low Carbon Building Programme

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it the policy of the Government to promote the installation of low carbon flexible electric heating systems in  (a) private homes and  (b) public buildings.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have a range of policies aimed at promoting low carbon products and technologies in both the household and public sectors and encouraging new innovations. These include the energy efficiency commitment, building regulations, the market transformation programme, targets and standards for the public sector and support for the work of the Energy Saving Trust and the Carbon Trust, as well as public engagement activity. Our policy tends to be technology neutral, leaving it to market players to develop the best approaches in a flexible manner. All the carbon abatement policies for these sectors are set out in the Government's Climate Change Programme 2006.
	The Energy White Paper due to be published later this spring will provide updated information on the Government's proposals for meeting our future challenging carbon abatement commitments in these sectors.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Prostitution: Drugs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she is taking with Ministers in the Department of Health and the Home Office to help prostitutes overcome drug addictions.

Meg Munn: As a member of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Sexual Offending, I have regular discussions on these issues with colleagues from the Home Office and Department of Health.
	A 2004 Home Office study profiled 228 women involved in street-based prostitution and found that 87 per cent. used heroin and 64 per cent., crack cocaine. Anecdotal evidence from Government consultation on prostitution suggested that a high proportion of those involved in street-prostitution use class A drugs.
	Drug services are now expected to focus on the client's needs, not just on the misuse of the drug. Treatment services are therefore adopting flexible treatment packages that reflect both the range of drugs used and the complex needs of the drug users, working in partnership with other local agencies to deliver a range of support. The Home Office published commissioning guidance for partnerships and providers tackling drug problems associated with prostitution in 2004. This guidance looks at how to reduce the impact problematic drug misuse has on those involved in street prostitution through primary prevention, harm reduction and drug treatment. The Government's coordinated strategy on prostitution builds on this, and also includes proposals for a new rehabilitative penalty for loitering or soliciting, to encourage those involved to tackle the issues that tie them to the streets, including drug addiction.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Departmental Coordination: EC Action

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed in her European Secretariat; and what mechanisms are in place for liaison between the Secretariat and officials responsible to the Minister for Europe.

Hilary Armstrong: The European Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office, employs 28 people. The Secretariat coordinates European policy across Government. There is daily contact at all levels between the Secretariat and FCO officials dealing with EU business and the FCO attend European Secretariat coordination meetings.

Departments: Accountancy

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what items were covered by the 18(b) Intra-Government Balances as referred to on page 54 of the Cabinet Office's Resource Accounts 2005-06.

Hilary Armstrong: Note 18b covers amounts outstanding to the Cabinet Office for the following items under each of the headings.
	 Balances with other central Government bodies
	The National School for Government's business trading transactions with other parts of
	Government, providing training, development and consultancy services.
	Services provided by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
	Cost share arrangements with other Government Departments to deliver and operate DirectGov, the Government's primary digital service for citizens, and other common infrastructure.
	Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments.
	Permitted VAT recovery from HM Revenue and Customs.
	The transfer of functions to other departments as part of machinery of government changes.
	 Balances with local authorities
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between local authorities and the Cabinet Office.
	Prepayment of civil defence grants.
	Contributions to common IT infrastructure.
	 Balances with NHS trusts
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
	 Balances with public corporations and trading funds
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government.
	Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments
	Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
	 Balances with bodies external to government
	Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
	Advances to members of staff, primarily for season ticket loans.
	Reimbursement of costs connected with collaboration with external bodies and with staff transferring between external bodies and the Cabinet Office.
	Prepaid expenditure for training, maintenance, telecommunications and grants to civil service organisations.

Departments: Accountancy

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007,  Official Report, column 876W, on the budget, what activities are covered under the budget headings referred to; and what income was generated in the last period for which figures are available.

Hilary Armstrong: The main budget headings referred to in my answer of 6 February 2007,  Official Report, column 876W are Pay, Non Pay and Income. The activities covered for each of these headings are as follows;
	Pay includes all elements of pay and associated costs, such as salaries, employer's related national insurance contributions and superannuation costs.
	Non pay includes administration costs and programme costs. Administration costs are the costs of running the department, while programme costs reflect non administration costs including payments of grants and other disbursements made by the Department.
	Income includes fees and charges for services provided on a full-cost basis to external customers as well as public repayment work.
	For details of Income in the last period available, I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2005-06 (Page 50).
	Copies of this report are available in the Library and are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/annualreport/index.asp

Departments: Accountancy

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the donated asset reserve of her Department was reduced, as referred to on page 58 of her Department's latest annual resource accounts.

Hilary Armstrong: The reduction in the donated asset reserve is set out in the table to which the hon. Member refers.

Departments: Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007,  Official Report, column 876W, on advertising, how much of the sum was spent on  (a) advertorials and  (b) sponsoring supplements.

Hilary Armstrong: In 2005-06, the Cabinet Office spent  (a) nothing on advertorials and  (b) 36,000 on sponsoring a supplement.

Departments: Official Visits

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by her Department on  (a) travel and  (b) accommodation (i) within the UK and (ii) abroad in 2005-06.

Hilary Armstrong: Due to the way that accommodation and travel related costs are recorded on the Cabinet Office accounting system, it is not possible to extract the information in the format requested, without incurring disproportionate costs.
	All official travel in the Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office management code. All ministerial travel related costs are undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out on the ministerial code and 'Travel by Ministers', copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Electronic Government

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria were used to assess the websites reviewed as part of the transformational government strategy; how many such websites have been designated for  (a) closure and  (b) continued existence, broken down by principal reason in each case.

Patrick McFadden: Departments are reviewing each of their websites in order to implement the Government's overall objective to improve citizen and business focus, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency in the Government's web services. Each departmental decision is taken in the light of all the relevant factors and it is not possible to attribute a single reason to each case.
	So far in the review, 551 websites have been designated for closure. We will preserve and strengthen the availability and accessibility of information and services which are still relevant through a smaller number of high quality websites focused around audiences, including Directgov and Businesslink, and the main departmental websites. Where necessary, information will be maintained for archive or FOI purposes. To date, 26 sites, such as main departmental websites, have been designated as having a continuing role. Decisions on other websites are still under review.

Electronic Records Management

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what public expenditure was on the Exchange Rate Mechanism project in 2005-06, broken down by main budget heading.

Hilary Armstrong: I understand that the question is intended to refer to the Cabinet Office's Electronic Records Management Project.
	
		
			  Annual expenditure for 2005-06 
			
			 Applications (software etc.) 608,482.00 
			 Business change 29,525.00 
			 Infrastructure (hardware etc.) 87,443.00 
			 Project costs 354,443.00 
			 Total 1,079,893.00

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Recruitment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many participants in the recent recruitment drive in Nuneaton on 4 and 5 November 2006 expressed an interest in joining the armed forces;
	(2)  what his assessment is of the effectiveness of the recruitment drive aimed at young Muslims in Nuneaton on 4 and 5 November 2006.

Derek Twigg: holding answers 22 January 2007
	To date, there have been no firm expressions of interest to join the Army as a result of the Look at Life (LAL) event run at Gamecock Barracks for youngsters from the Ahmadiyyan Muslim community. The primary purpose of the event sought to raise awareness of the Army and its place in society.
	The LAL course was well received. The course was developed as part of the Army's ongoing 'Diversity Thread' programme, which seeks to engage with key influencers and the target audience (16 to 33 years old for the Regular Army and 18 to 34 for the Territorial Army). This entails raising awareness of the Army and its place in society, building interest in the Army, its careers, and its values and standards, all with the intention of potentially securing commitment to join or simply to support the ideals of the service.
	In this financial year over 1,000 young people from ethnic backgrounds have applied to join the Army as regular soldiers; with over 300 enlisting since 1 April 2006. This is very encouraging and represents an increase of 6 per cent. compared to the same period last year. Over 70 young people from ethnic backgrounds have applied to join the Army as officersan increase of 70 per cent. over the same period last yearwith 23 passing the Army Officer Selection Boardan increase of 109 per cent. over the same period last year.
	While the growth in young people from ethnic backgrounds seeking to join the Army is modest, the annual increase is steady. For the current recruiting year, the Army is looking to recruit 4.1 per cent. of its intake from ethnic minority communities.

Armed Forces: Fire Services

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans there are for military personnel to fight fires in the event of a fire strike.

Adam Ingram: Service personnel are only used to provide cover during fire strikes as a last resort. There are accordingly no armed forces personnel on permanent standby or permanently trained to provide emergency fire cover. In the event of a strike, fire services are expected to explore all other available options drawing on professional firefighters. This has been borne out recently, as military assistance was not required during Fire Brigade Union industrial action in Hertfordshire and Merseyside last year.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel are being treated in civilian hospitals.

Derek Twigg: Military patients can be treated in any NHS hospital, which is the most effective way of enabling them to benefit from the latest advances in medical treatment and the recent major investments in NHS facilities. On average, on any one day, the number of military in-patients in NHS hospitals throughout the UK will be barely enough to fill two wards.
	The total number of military in-patients across all UK hospitals are not collated on a regular basis. When a snapshot exercise was carried out on 10 October 2006, there were 33 service in-patients in the five NHS hospitals hosting Ministry of Defence hospital units (MDHUs) and 16 in-patients at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) in Birmingham. A small number of individuals were also being treated at NHS hospitals who do not host one of our MDHUs. However, the number of personnel falling into this category are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It was estimated that there were around a further 15 to 25 service personnel as in-patients in NHS hospitals on 10 October 2006, in addition to those in the MDHU and RCDM hospitals.
	Service personnel who require in-patient mental health care are treated at the Priory Group. On 7 February 2007, 31 military personnel were receiving in-patient treatment. This is part of our ongoing commitment to providing community-based mental health care access to high quality care without delay, providing regional care within easy reach of unit, base or home.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the policy to treat military patients in the NHS began.

Derek Twigg: Service personnel have always been entitled to secondary care and community services in the NHS since it was formed in 1948. Following the decisions in 1990s to close the remaining military hospitals, the NHS now provides secondary care services to the military in the UK, with in-patient mental healthcare being provided by the Priory Group. The geographical distribution of military bases within the UK means that this use of local secondary care facilities is the most effective way of providing excellent healthcare to the armed forces. In addition to this, we work closely with the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust to provide both the Royal College of Defence medicine and a military managed ward which primarily supports those wounded on operations.

Armed Forces: Horses

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many horses are stabled at the Army's expense but not owned by them; and what the total annual cost of keeping them is;
	(2)  how many horses the Army owns; and what the total estimated cost is of keeping them.

Derek Twigg: The number of horses currently owned by the Army is 626.
	The total estimated cost of keeping these horses is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Similarly, information on the number of horses stabled at the Army's expense, but not owned by them, and the financial arrangements for keeping them are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Protective Clothing

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the timetable is for introducing flame retardant clothing to all operational  (a) RAF,  (b) Royal Navy and  (c) Army Air Corps air crews.

Adam Ingram: All operational air crews of the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army Air Corps currently have flame retardant flying clothing in the form of the Mkl6/Mkl7 flying overalls.
	Additionally, a fire retardant version of Combat Soldier 95 has been developed for aircrew operating in areas where it is deemed more appropriate to wear than flying overalls. All sets for rotary wing aircraft have been delivered to the Joint Helicopter Command. Those for fixed wing aircrew are being delivered in two batches: one is currently being delivered and one will be delivered in April.

Armed Forces: Security

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what extra security has been provided at regional airports used for troop movements by charter flights; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: All UK airports from which flights regulated under the National Aviation Security Programme operate must meet the requirements of the Programme, and are subject to routine inspection, audits and tests by the Department for Transport. The security measures applied at Regional Airports used for troop movements are commensurate with the current threat.

Armed Forces: Telephones

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will review the adequacy of the welfare benefits of Commonwealth citizens serving in the UK armed forces, with particular reference to free telephone calls.

Derek Twigg: With one exception, Commonwealth citizens serving in the UK armed forces receive the same welfare benefits when on operations as UK based personnel. This includes 30 minutes of welfare telephone calls per week to anywhere in the world.
	The exception is that Commonwealth citizens have not been able to send and receive Free Forces Air Letters to and from their country of origin. From 2 April 2007, personnel on operations will be able to send these letters to their countries of origin free of charge.

Army: Suicide

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many suicides there have been in the British Army since 2001.

Derek Twigg: Between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2005, the latest date for which validated centrally-compiled data are available, there were 52 coroner-confirmed suicide and open verdict deaths among regular Army Service personnel. This figure does not include deaths due to violent or unnatural causes that are still awaiting a coroner's verdict.

Army: Vetting

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what police checks are carried out on army recruits from Commonwealth countries;
	(2)  if he will establish background police checks on army recruits from the Commonwealth.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 23 February 2007
	As part of the Army recruitment process, Commonwealth citizens who apply while outside the UK, are required to provide a certificate from their home nation police force which confirms that a check has been carried out on the individual within the three to four months preceding their application. In addition, all recruits, regardless of nationality and place of application, are required to declare whether or not they have any unspent convictions. Security Vetting is carried out by the Defence Vetting Agency for all recruits entering vetted trades such as the Royal Signals, and Criminal Records Bureau checks are made on all Medical Services recruits. There are no plans at present however to establish further background police checks for Commonwealth recruits.

Challenger Tanks

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many Challenger 2 main battle tanks he expects to be operable and in service in February 2008;
	(2)  how many Challenger 2 main battle tanks are operable and in service.

Adam Ingram: 'Operable' and 'In service' are synonymous regarding Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks and are defined as equipment that is not in deep maintenance, repair, storage or retained for training.
	There are currently 282 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks in service with the Army. It is expected that the number of Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks in service in February 2008 will be approximately the same as the numbers available today, bar minor fluctuations. For instance, there were 276 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks in service in December 2006.

Defence Export Services Organisation: Manpower

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff are employed by the Defence Export Services Organisation; and what its budget is for 2006-07.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 27 February 2007
	On 1 February 2007, the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) employed 466 staff. Over 200 of these were working on Government-to-Government projects, the costs of which are met by the customer Governments. For DESO's 2006-07 budget, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 September 2006,  Official Report, column 1691W, to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable).

Departments: Theft

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items valued at above 100 were reported as stolen from his Department's buildings or premises in the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Helicopters

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans are there to replace the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor system on the Apache helicopters.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 28 February 2007
	There is a programme to replace the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS), known collectively as Modernised TADS (M-TADS). The M-TADS system is to be fitted to all 67 UK Apache AH Mk1 helicopters over a two-year period, starting in February 2009.

Identification Friend Foe Systems

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British land forces are dependent on  (a) orange panels and  (b) other eye dependent systems for combat identification in any land theatre.

Adam Ingram: Combat Identificationthe ability to distinguish friend from foe during operationsis delivered through a combination of good situational awareness, tactics, techniques and procedures and target identification methods which include use of infra-red and visible spectrum panels. It follows that UK land forces are not solely dependent on such panels for Combat Identification.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether armed forces personnel in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan under mortar or rocket attack may retaliate; whether they are provided with any means of (i) locating the source of mortar or rocket fire and (ii) tracking subsequent movement of those who carried out the attack.

Adam Ingram: Armed forces personnel are able to use force in self-defence and in accordance with Rules of Engagement. I am withholding information on our locating and tracking capability as it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) troops and  (b) military vehicles there are in (i) Basra and (ii) Southern Helmand, broken down by type.

Adam Ingram: There are currently around 7,100 UK troops in Iraq and its territorial waters and around 5,000 UK troops in Afghanistan. There are currently around 1,400-1,500 military vehicles in Iraq and around 1,000-1,100 military vehicles in Afghanistan. These figures can fluctuate according to operational requirements, and do not include capabilities such as trailers, bicycles, quad bikes and generators.
	I am withholding specific details as this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the British armed forces have been killed in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan while engaged in the operation or recovery of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); what type of UAV was involved in each case; whether this type of UAV remains in service; and when he expects to introduce an alternative system.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As I stated previously on 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 231W, the requirement for reconnaissance, surveillance and wider force protection capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan is kept under constant review.

Military Bases: Stafford

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what progress he has made towards ceasing the storage and distribution operations at the military base in Stafford; and what alternative uses he proposes for the storage and distribution facilities there;
	(2)  what plans he has for locating additional military units at the military base in Stafford;
	(3)  what progress he has made in establishing a new Signals Regiment at the military base in Stafford.

Adam Ingram: Forty-two per cent. of the stocks from the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency facility at Stafford have been transferred to other Defence Storage and Distribution Agency sites. The remainder of the transfer is on target and programmed to complete by the end of September 2007.
	In terms of alternative uses for the storage and distribution facilities at Stafford and plans to locate additional military units at the military base, a study team is currently assessing a number of site options, including the defence site at Stafford, as potential bases for certain units who may return from Germany to the UK. Decisions are not expected before summer 2007. There is an additional aspiration to create, in the longer term, a West Midlands Super Garrison, of which Stafford may be a part. Work is ongoing to develop the Super Garrison plan.
	The new Signals Regiment (22 Signal Regiment) is now 80 per cent. in situ in Stafford. The final aspects of establishing the regiment are progressing on time with Full Operating Capability expected in December 2007.

Rendition

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any special agreements or other arrangements under the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation have been made in relation to overflight through the UK, its overseas territories and bases by US state aircraft.

Adam Ingram: The UK has bilateral arrangements with over 30 countries, including the United States, under which routine flights by military aircraft are cleared to overfly and land in the UK without seeking prior permission. All foreign and Commonwealth military aircraft transporting VIPs or carrying dangerous air cargo need to seek advance clearance.

Territorial Army: Recruitment

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the merits of raising the upper age limit for people applying to the Territorial Army.

Derek Twigg: Proposals to raise the upper age limit for people applying to the Territorial Army are currently under consideration. I shall inform the House when any decision is made.

Uniforms

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make estimate the cost of equipping a member of the  (a) Line Regiment,  (b) Guards Division and  (c) Horse Guard with their full equipment.

Adam Ingram: Any regiment can be called for operational duty and will be provided with combat clothing either in temperate or desert material, depending on where they are required to deploy. The approximate cost of a set of temperate combat clothing is 760, and the approximate cost of desert operations combat clothing is 2,200. The average cost of parade wear uniform (Army No2 Dress-Khaki) is 100.
	The average additional cost of equipping a Footguard for ceremonial duty is 1,000, and the average cost of ceremonial clothing and accoutrements for a member of the Household Cavalry is 6,000.
	The provision of a more detailed breakdown of the wide range of equipment used by service personnel would require detailed analysis and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Working Hours

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of personnel in  (a) the Royal Air Force and  (b) the Army worked excessive hours in each year since 2001.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 18 January 2007
	Estimates of the working hours of service personnel are published annually. Section 2.4 of the most recent report, 2005-06, contains a time series from 2002-03 of estimated proportions of personnel working 'excessive hours' by service. Previous estimates are available in historic reports but the responses are not 'weighted' so are not strictly comparable.
	Copies of the Survey of Continuous Working Patterns reports from 2001-02 are available in the Library of the House.

HEALTH

Autism

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to treat autism in  (a) England and  (b) Coventry.

Ivan Lewis: The Autism Research Co-ordination Group, created by the Government, brings together a range of information from the field of autism. The group's first annual report, published in July 2006, noted that the causes remain unknown and that there is no effective medical treatment.
	In order to clarify the nature and extent of existing government policy in relation to adults with autistic spectrum disorders, the Department published a document for commissioners and providers of all services that support people with autism. This clarification note, Better Services for people with an autistic spectrum disorder: A note clarifying current Government policy and describing good practice, was published on 16 November 2006. The Department would expect the national health service and local authorities to use this document when planning services to support the development of people with autism.
	The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, (2004) included an exemplar patient journey for children with autistic spectrum disorders. The exemplar demonstrates how autism services for children should be provided.
	In Coventry, the local authority, Coventry teaching primary care trust and Coventry and Warwickshire partnership NHS trust recognise the needs of their population with autistic spectrum disorder and plan services accordingly. The Coventry Autism Support Service provides support for the school-age population and the Corley Centre offers specialist day and residential provision and outreach to neighbourhood schools. Both Children and Adult Mental Health Services and Connexions within Coventry have specialist autism workers and young people and their families can be sign-posted to post-16 provision.

Avian Influenza

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish her Department's emergency response plan in the event of a H5N1-related outbreak of influenza among humans.

Rosie Winterton: It is important to be clear about the differences between avian influenza, seasonal influenza, and pandemic influenza. Avian influenza is a disease of birds which occasionally affects people. Seasonal influenza refers to the illness which occurs each winter due to human influenza viruses which are circulating in the population. Pandemic influenza occurs infrequently, when a new influenza virus emerges which is markedly different from those recently circulating in the human population, causes disease in people and spreads easily between people because they have little or no immunity to it. This could happen through an avian influenza virus, such as the H5N1 virus, mutating into a different strain with greater affinity for people.
	The updated United Kingdom Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan was published on 19 October 2005 and is available on our website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu.
	The plan is currently being revised and the intention is that the revised version will have a broader scope than just the health response and cover wider areas of national planning. The revised plan will be published shortly.

Clear Communications Consultants

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts hold contracts with Clear Communications Consultants Ltd.

Ivan Lewis: Information on national health service trust contracts is not held centrally.

Dental Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligations are placed on primary care trusts to recommission units of dental activity from their departmental allocation resulting from dentists not taking up NHS contracts.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are expected to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that resources allocated for primary dental care services are spent on commissioning and/or providing dental services. This can be through general dental services contracts, personal dental services agreements or through PCT dental services. Strategic health authorities have also been asked to maintain, as a minimum, levels of investment in dental services across their area, if necessary by re-deploying resources between PCTs. It is for PCTs locally to decide what levels of dental services to seek to commission for a given level of expenditure and to decide how far services should be monitored through weighted courses of treatment (for example, units of dental activity) or through other measures.

Dental Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what freedom primary care trusts have to change contract values for dentists who are not meeting the unit of dental activity target they have been set.

Rosie Winterton: The contracts agreed between primary care trusts (PCT) and providers of national health service dental services specify both an annual contract value and the overall level of services, measured in terms of weighted courses of treatment (or units of dental activity), that are to be carried out over the course of a year. These annual requirements are at least 5 per cent. below the equivalent service levels carried out under the former general dental services arrangements. Where it appears from a mid-year review or subsequently that a provider is unlikely to carry out the agreed annual service level, the PCT may propose a variation to the contract value to reflect the level of services likely to be provided. In the event of disagreement, any proposed variation may be referred to the NHS Litigation Authority.

Dental Services: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS  (a) dentists and  (b) patients were registered in Hemel Hempstead constituency in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Table one shows data on national health service dentists and patients registered as at year ending March 1997 to 2006 as requested, under the old contract.
	Under the new dental contract, as from April 2006 registration data is no longer collected centrally, instead there is a new measure on patients seen within the last 24 months. The latest data for NHS dentists and patients seen (table two and three) is only available at primary care trust (PCT) area level. The data requested are not available for Hemel Hempstead constituency. Dacorum PCT covers South West Hertfordshire constituency as well as Hemel Hempstead constituency.
	
		
			  Table 1: general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): total NHS dentists and patient registrations by parliamentary constituency, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 
			   Dentists  Registrations 
			  Hemel Hempstead   
			 1997 40 49,669 
			 1998 35 46,687 
			 1999 38 42,731 
			 2000 40 42,223 
			 2001 42 42,093 
			 2002 43 43,455 
			 2003 47 42,847 
			 2004 46 43,558 
			 2005 44 43,422 
			 2006 50 45,169 
			  Notes: 1. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. Constituency areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory. 2. Dentists consist of principals, assistant and trainees. Information on NHS dentistry in the community dental service, in hospitals and in prisons are excluded. 3. The data in this report are based on NHS dentists on PCT lists. These details were passed on to the BSA who paid dentists based on activity undertaken. A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. In some cases an NHS dentist may appear on a PCT list but not perform any NHS work in that period. Most NHS dentists do some private work. The data does not take into account the proportion of NHS work undertaken by dentists. 4. The boundaries used are as at 31 March 2006.  Sources: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Total number of dentists on open NHS contracts at PCT level as at 30 June 2006 and as at 30 September 2006 (including orthodontic workforce) 
			   June  September 
			 Dacorum PCT 90 88 
			  Notes: 1. A performer is defined as a dentist who has been set up on the DPD payments online (POL)system by the PCT to work under an open contract during the relevant time period. 2. Data provided are a count of the individuals listed as performers on open contracts within a PCT, including orthodontists. 3. Data consist of performers in general dental services (GDS), personal dental services (PDS), and trust-led dental services.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Total number of patients seen in the two years ending 30 June 2006 and 30 September 2006 (including orthodontic activity) 
			   June  September 
			 Dacorum PCT 82,985 83,548 
			  Sources: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA) Office for National Statistics

Dental Services: Kent

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in  (a) Sittingbourne and  (b) Sheppey.

Rosie Winterton: Numbers of dentists under the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, are not available at this level of area. Sittingbourne and Sheppey parliamentary constituency is covered by Swale primary care trust (PCT), which also covers Faversham and Mid-Kent constituency. The latest numbers for the PCT are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Dentists on open national health service contracts within Swale primary care trust as at 30 September 2006 
			   Number 
			 Swale PCT 41 
			  Note: A dentist can provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed within their contract. In some cases an NHS dentist may be listed to carry out NHS work but may not do so for a given period.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority (BSA)

Dental Services: Yorkshire and Humberside

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what total amount has been spent in Craven Harrogate and rural district primary care trust on NHS dentistry since the introduction of the new NHS dental contracts;
	(2)  what the projected expenditure on NHS dentistry is for Craven Harrogate and rural district primary care trust in 2007-08;
	(3)  what the budget was for NHS dentistry in Craven Harrogate and rural district primary care trust in 2006-07; and what the budget is for 2007-08;
	(4)  what provision the Craven Harrogate and rural district primary care trust has made for money unspent in 2006-07 to be assigned to NHS dentistry.

Rosie Winterton: Craven, Harrogate and rural district primary care trust (PCT) was awarded a net primary dental service allocation of 6,903,000 for 2006-07. This was associated with an indicative gross budget of 10,198,320, taking account of possible patient charge income of 3,294,886. The actual level of charge income will depend on a range of variables including the service levels (i.e. the annual units of dental activity) agreed for each local contract with dentists and the relative proportions of chargeable and non-chargeable treatments carried out during the year.
	On 1 October 2006 the Craven, Harrogate and rural district PCT was absorbed, with its resources, within the newly established North Yorkshire and York PCT. The in-year management of the devolved primary dental care allocations, including the distribution of resources within its overall area, is now the responsibility of the new PCT, overseen by Yorkshire and the Humber strategic health authority. Full year expenditure data will not be available until after the year end. Budgets for 2007-08 will be set on the basis of the new PCT areas.

Diabetes: Testing

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people with diabetes have  (a) been offered and  (b) received retinopathy screening; what targets her Department has for diabetic retinopathy screening; and whether these targets have been met.

Rosie Winterton: Improvement, expansion and reform: the next three years, the priorities and planning framework for 2003-06, includes targets that: by 2006, a minimum of 80 per cent. of people with diabetes to be offered screening for the early detection (and treatment if needed): of diabetic retinopathy as part of a systematic programme that meets national standards, rising to 100 per cent., of those at risk of retinopathy by end 2007. Data show that, in March 2006, 78.4 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening and 65.4 per cent. had received screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year. Latest data for December 2006 shows that 81.1 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening and 65.5 per cent. had received screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England and Wales were in treatment in  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2005 and  (d) 2006 under pooled treatment budget allocations for drug treatment funding; and how many of those people were treated in drug assistance rehabilitation beds.

Caroline Flint: The table shows the number of clients presented to treatment in England from 2003 to 2006, and how many people were in residential rehabilitation using data collected by the national drug treatment monitoring system (NDTMS).
	The NDTMS collects data for England only; Welsh data is collected separately through the National Assembly for Wales. Placements within treatment services will be funded by local mainstream budgets and community care budgets, as well as using pooled drug treatment budget allocations. The data requested is available only for financial years 2003-04 to 2005-06.
	
		
			   Number in treatment  Number in residential rehab 
			 2003-04 125,545 n/a 
			 2004-05 160,450 4,400 
			 2005-06 181,390 4,575 
			  Note: The figures for numbers in residential rehabilitation are likely to be under-represented, as in previous years many residential rehabilitation agencies have not completed NDTMS returns Data was not collected from residential rehabilitation services prior to 2003-04.

Foster Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she is responding to the concerns expressed by professional bodies about proposals in the Foster Review to regulate statutorily the non-medical healthcare professions.

Andy Burnham: We have received a large number of responses to the consultation on the regulation of the health professions. After considering these responses, we published a White Paper on Wednesday 21 February 2007, called Trust Assurance and SafetyThe Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century.
	We will now move this agenda forward in close partnership with stakeholders and the devolved Administrations to ensure that these proposals are implemented in a way which makes them workable in the local context, and that the potential benefits of these crucial reforms are maximised.

Health Services: Northern Region

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from clinicians in  (a) Lancashire and  (b) Cumbria on the possibility of a contract for capture, assess, treat and support clinical services being awarded to Netcare.

Rosie Winterton: A search of the Department's correspondence shows six letters from clinicians about the clinical assessment, treatment and support (CATS) services in the north-west.
	Over the past 18 months the North West Strategic Health Authority (previously the Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority) and acute trusts have engaged closely with clinicians, through relevant primary care trust (PCT) structures, on the CATS scheme.
	This has included a clinical reference group involved in the development of the initial CATS specification, clinical pathway workshops to inform the pathway development of the specialties in CATS (which were attended both by local clinicians and Netcare), and wider roadshow events run throughout the procurement process by the Cumbria and Lancashire independent sector commissioning team where both clinicians and managers were kept up to date on the procurement process.
	Local clinicians are also encouraged to express their view on the CATS scheme as part of the formal consultation exercise currently being undertaken by PCTs in Cumbria and Lancashire.

Hospitals: Reorganisation

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often  (a) she and  (b) other Ministers from her Department have met chief executives of strategic health authorities in the last 12 months; and on how many of those occasions the re-configuration of hospitals was discussed.

Andy Burnham: All departmental Ministers are in regular contact with the chief executives of strategic health authorities (SHAs), according to their regional responsibilities, to discuss a range of issues including local plans for service reconfigurations. The Secretary of State also attends a regular monthly meeting with the chairs and chief executives of SHAs.

Infection Control

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press releases her Department issued on infection control in each month since January 2004.

Ivan Lewis: Since January 2004, the Department has published 28 press releases related to infection control, as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 July 2004 2 
			 October 2004 2 
			 November 2004 2 
			 December 2004 4 
			 January 2005 1 
			 February 2005 2 
			 March 2005 2 
			 May 2005 1 
			 June 2005 1 
			 July 2005 2 
			 August 2005 1 
			 September 2005 1 
			 October 2005 2 
			 December 2005 1 
			 May 2006 1 
			 July 2006 1 
			 December 2006 1 
			 January 2007 1

Influenza

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the consequences for public health of entry into the UK of a person carrying a virulent influenza strain that is transmissible between humans; and what action the Government are taking to help prevent such an eventuality.

Rosie Winterton: It is important to be clear about the differences between seasonal influenza and pandemic influenza. Seasonal influenza refers to the illness which occurs each winter due to human influenza viruses which are circulating in the population. Pandemic influenza occurs infrequently, when a new influenza virus emerges which is markedly different from those recently circulating in the human population; causes disease in people; and spreads easily between people because they have little or no immunity to it. This could happen through an avian influenza virus, such as the H5N1 virus, mutating into a different strain with greater affinity for people.
	It is also important to remember that it is very difficult to prevent a pandemic and it could emerge anywhere in the world including the United Kingdom. The UK is working closely with World Health Organisation and other international partners to prepare for, and respond to, a potential pandemic, including by containment of an emerging pandemic virus. The WHO has a stockpile of antiviral drugs, to which the UK has contributed, which will be sent to where a pandemic develops. If deployed rapidly, these drugs may help to contain an emerging pandemic virus or slow its national and international spread.
	Should a pandemic develop, the UK would follow the procedures outlined in the UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan, which was published in October 2005 and is available on our website at www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu. The plan is currently being revised and the revised plan will be published shortly.

Influenza

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the preparedness of  (a) countries where humans have died from infection with avian influenza for the consequences of humans becoming infected with a potent mutated strain of virus that is transmitted between humans and  (b) the UK and other developed countries; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Government work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO), which continues to carefully monitor the situation in countries where humans have died from infection with avian influenza. The WHO, in conjunction with the International Organisation of Animal Health, is working to ensure there is strong epidemiological surveillance in South East Asia to detect outbreaks early and on a strengthened rapid response capacity.
	The United Kingdom works closely with the WHO and international partners to ensure that our planning is informed by expert advice and international consensus. The UK has tested its preparedness in several exercises. The WHO considers the UK to be at the forefront of preparedness internationally and we are continuing to consider what other measures could be taken to further improve our preparedness for a pandemic of influenza. Preparedness planning in other European countries was reported to be broadly good in an assessment published in the Lancet in 2006, although substantial variation between countries was noted.

Influenza: Vaccination

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department has issued on administering the tamiflu anti-viral drug to  (a) poultry workers,  (b) farm workers and  (c) workers in other related industrial sectors; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: When an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is confirmed, poultry workers on the infected farm, together with vets, contractors and others who might be at risk due to direct close contact with diseased birds will be offered the antiviral therapy, Oseltamivir within 24 to 48 hours of disease confirmation.
	Antiviral drugs will be made available and administered through the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) local health protection units in collaboration with the national health service in England (similar arrangements will apply in Wales and Scotland).
	The Government have existing stocks of antiviral drugs available for this purpose. Arrangements have been put in place to make this available to poultry workers within 24 to 48 hours.
	Further information is available on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and HPA websites.

Junior Doctors: Career Structure

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has consulted  (a) the British Medical Association and  (b) its junior doctor representatives on the service implications of moving to a uniform August start date for Modernising Medical Careers.

Rosie Winterton: The British Medical Association (BMA) along with other important stakeholders has been consulted at every stage of the development of Modernising Medical Careers.
	Historically, medical graduates have always begun their new jobs in the national health service in August while at the same time senior house officers begin new six-month contracts. In England, this could mean up to 20,000 doctors in training, including over 4,300 new graduates, taking up jobs in August.
	Under Modernising Medical Careers, doctors in training will not be required to look for new jobs every six months. Instead, they will train in managed programmes lasting a number of years according to specialty.
	Modernising Medical Careers will, therefore, help to ease rather than increase the pressure created by the August start date. We are aware, however, that there will still be a higher level of recruitment in August than in any other month. We have asked the Modernising Medical Careers United Kingdom Strategy Group to consider whether other arrangements might be more appropriate. The BMA and indeed NHS employers will be consulted as part of that study.

Ministerial Code

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions in each year since 1997 a Minister in her Department has had duties removed to avoid a potential conflict of interest under section 5.17 of the ministerial code.

Ivan Lewis: None.

MRSA

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the memo written by the Director of Health Protection, Liz Woodeson, in October 2006 on Government targets to combat MRSA; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The document referred to by the hon. Member was a working document for discussion with Ministers and it is therefore inappropriate to place it in the Library.

MRSA

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on new strains of MRSA in the NHS; what steps her Department is taking to prevent such strains; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: New emerging strains of meticillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other healthcare associated infections are picked up by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) through the provision of specialist and reference services and pro-active surveillance initiatives.
	The Department receives representations on these issues from the HPA and others such as the Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance. We will be commissioning a project to investigate the prevalence of community associated-MRSA (CA-MRSA), including Panton Valentine Leukodidin (PVL)-producing strains.
	While CA-MRSA is controlled by standard infection control procedures it can be difficult to identify. Consequently, we have produced guidance on the diagnosis and management of PVL infections and this is currently being revised.

NHS Trust Managers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what her policy is on the re-engagement by an NHS Trust of an individual who has recently received a six-figure redundancy payment from another NHS Trust;
	(2)  if she will make it a priority to review the financial implications of the guidelines available to NHS Trusts in respect of redundancy payment arrangements for NHS management.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 2 February 2007
	Staff recruitment is a matter for local trust management in conjunction with the appropriate strategic health authority.
	There is a published document covering redundancy arrangements and best practice for primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. It is entitled Standards for implementing good human resource practice and value for money when staff are affected by organisational change published by NHS Employers on 15 June 2006.
	As detailed within section 16 of the Agenda for Change NHS Terms and Conditions Handbook. No redundancy payment or premature retirement benefits will be made or allowed to be retained where the person concerned obtains employment within the national health service or other qualifying organisations within a period of four weeks of the cessation of their employment. Neither will a person concerned be able to receive a redundancy payment or premature retirement benefits if they secure a promise of employment but defer commencement of that post within the NHS or qualifying organisation within four weeks of leaving their employment.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS walk-in centres have closed since 2000.

Andy Burnham: National health service walk-in centres are now local services commissioned or provided by primary care trusts and the Department does not hold comprehensive information on them. However, the Department is not aware of any such services which have closed.

NHS: Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of overspend was by NHS Trusts in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Our national health service finance report for quarter three of 2006-07, published on 20 February, contains details of the forecast out-turn position for all national health service organisations. Copies are available in the Library.

NHS: Logos

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) her Department and  (b) NHS Identity has spent on licensing fonts since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has spent 9,976 on font licences since 1997, of which 3,529 was spent on font licences for use with the national health service corporate identity.

Ophthalmology: Voucher Schemes

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she intends to extend the voucher scheme for the free issue of low vision aids by dispensing opticians.

Rosie Winterton: Low vision aids are already available free on loan to any person assessed as requiring them. The hospital eye service assesses the needs of the individual and provides any necessary low vision aids. There are no plans to bring low vision aids within the scope of the optical voucher scheme.
	Social services departments also have responsibility for assessing the needs of individuals who request help due to problems with their vision. This help is usually in the form of modifications to a person's home.

Patients Forums

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a statutory requirement exists to enforce communications between NHS trusts and patients' forums.

Rosie Winterton: The Patient's Forums (Functions) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2124) require that a patients forum may require national health service trusts to produce any information that appears to them to be necessary for the effective carrying out of their functions. The NHS trust must comply promptly and in any event no later than 20 working days following the date the requirement was made.
	The same Regulations also require that where a patients forum requests a response from the NHS trust for which it is established, and to whom it has made a report or recommendation, that trust shall respond in writing to the patients forum promptly and in any event again no later than 20 working days following the date the request was made giving an explanation of any actions it intends to take; or why it does not intend to take any action.

Physiotherapy

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the employment prospects for newly qualified physiotherapists in 2007 and 2008.

Rosie Winterton: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation, develop plans and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver high quality physiotherapy services.
	The Department is working closely with NHS Employers and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy to find opportunities for those coming out of training. NHS Employers published guidance recently to support local national health service organisations, to help them maximise employment opportunities and to ensure the health and social care services do not lose the skills of newly qualified physiotherapists.
	On 7 February, NHS Employers hosted a summit, which brought together representatives from strategic health authorities, trade unions, the independent health care sector, social care, the higher education sector and Jobcentre Plus. The outcome of the day was a jointly agreed action plan to help newly qualified health care professionals find jobs. The action plan will be taken forward by local partnerships working together to develop the best solutions for their area.

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1756W, on retirement age, if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter to be sent to employees.

Ivan Lewis: Copies of the letter have been placed in the Library.

Tuberculosis

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were reported  (a) in England,  (b) the area covered by the East Kent Hospitals Trust and  (c) at the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital, Margate in each of the last 10 years.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 28 February 2007
	Reports of tuberculosis in England 1995-2005 are shown in the table.
	Data for tuberculosis rates for individual hospitals are not collected centrally.
	
		
			   Number of case reports 
			 2005 7,846 
			 2004 7,049 
			 2003 6,741 
			 2002 6,638 
			 2001 6,414 
			 2000 6,091 
			 1999 5,539 
			 1998 5,495 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency enhanced tuberculosis surveillance (ETS) system, piloted in 1998 and introduced in 1999. 
		
	
	
		
			   Number of notifications 
			 1997 5,664 
			 1996 5,493 
			 1995 5,428 
			  Note: Data as at 23 February 2007. Data for 2006 are not yet available.  Source: Health Protection Agency statutory notifications of infectious diseases (NOIDS) NOIDS data are less precise than those collected through ETS.

Written Questions

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will answer the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Cleveland on 16 January 2007, on radioactive hospital waste, references  (a) 117208 and  (b) 117210; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 28 February 2007
	I replied to the hon. Member's questions on 27 February 2007,  Official Report column 1288W.